Vacation of Pleasure
by MmeGray
Summary: Edward, Carlisle, Jasper, and Emmett are 4 brothers whose father has just handed them the keys to his theme park. When Bella wins a 3-week vacation to said park, and brings Esme, Alice, and Rosalie along, what will happen? MAY BECOME M LATER ON!
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: The coincidences here are subtly intentional, but not meant for publish. All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, and a major part of the plot belongs to Nina Bangs' Wicked book series. Any other coincidences are completely unintentional.**

_AN: mrs. whitlock-hale helped me write this. Half of the credit belongs to her._

A man was standing at a window, watching his four sons roll around on the ground wrestling with each other. Carlisle, the oldest at 23, looked like him so much; it was almost like looking in a mirror. The only difference between him and his son was the eyes. Carlisle had his mother's pale blue eyes. Emmett at 21 looked like a body builder, his arms were so thick. He had his mother's brown locks, but his dark brown eyes. Although where he got the muscle was beyond him. Jasper was 20, and he had also inherited his father's blonde hair, but instead of pale blue eyes like his brother and mother, he had hazel eyes that were very expressional. Sometimes they seemed more green than brown, sometimes more brown. Edward was the youngest, and he didn't look like his father or mother, but instead was a mixture of both. The boys' mother's father had an interesting shade of hair that Edward had inherited. The color was that of bronze, but instead of pale blue or brown eyes, his were a vibrant green.

"Boys!" the man said. Instantly, all four guys stopped wrestling, brushed off their clothes and walked inside to join their father.

"Yeah, Dad?" Carlisle asked, ever the curious kitten.

"Boys," he started. "I've decided that I don't want to run the park anymore."

"What?!?" all four said. The park was their father's pride and joy after them. Nothing in the world could've parted him with that park. And all four boys had part-time jobs there while they went to college at the same time. However, school ended in about a week, and Mr. Cullen was too old to take on the challenge of college students. Too many raging and out of control hormones to watch over and try to keep in check.

"Dad, why are you closing the park?" Emmett asked.

"Closing?" Mr. Cullen said. "Who said I was closing it?"

"But, you said—"

"Emmett, please let me finish, and all will be explained." Facing his boys and looking each of them straight in the eyes, he told the boys of his plan. "I'm too old to deal with that park now. I want you four to take control of it and—no, Emmett, please let me finish. As you all well know, all of you are finally of age to take control of your lives. I know you have jobs at the park, and I won't make you give them up—"

"Thank God."

"—but I need you four to take over the park for me," their father continued as if Emmett hadn't said anything. "Please, boys. I'm too old, and summer vacation is nearly here. I can't take all of those young hormones anymore. After the fiasco that was last year, I've realized that I can't run the park forever."

"Dad," Carlisle said. "We're flattered, really, but do you really think that we can do this?"

"Carlisle, I have every faith in you four. And besides, what else are you going to do? If I gave control of the park to your Uncle Aro, who knows what would become of it? He would just turn it into something that would benefit him. Carlisle, you're the oldest, so I expect you to keep everything running smoothly. Emmett, as the next in line, you will act as assistant to Carlisle when he needs it. Jasper, I will need you to take on a better security team. Out of the four of you, you're the most qualified to do this. Edward, it will be your responsibility to keep your brothers in check, and also to take on a medical staff. We'll need more people if we're going to survive this summer."

It was the longest speech he'd ever given his sons, aside from the "birds and the bees" one that their mother—God rest her soul—had practically forced him to give each of them when they turned 13.

"Dad," Jasper started. "We appreciate this a lot, we really do, but—"

"Sleep on it," he said. "Talk it over with each other, but please give me your answer before I go to work tomorrow. I'll need to tell the rest of the employees if you're going to be taking over management of the park."

"Thank you, Father," Edward said. "We won't let you down."

"I know you won't, son," he said, clearly dismissing his boys. They went upstairs to their respective rooms, each one deciding if they wanted to take their father up on his offer. In the morning, each would tell their father that they'd gladly take over control of the Wicked Castle Adult Theme Park and all of its entireties.


	2. The Grand Prize

**Yeah, y'all know the drill. mrs. whitlock-hale and I don't own these characters, and we really don't own the some of the plot either. Characters are Stephenie Meyers, and the part of the plot that doesn't belong to us belongs to the talented writer, Ms. Nina Bangs.**

**BPOV**

"ANGELA!!"

"Yes, Bella?"

"How could you?"

I was astounded. Ms. Goody-Goody Angela Weber had actually entered my name in a drawing for a late-night-radio give-away that would leave any self-respecting girl such as myself speechless. A three-week-long stay at the Wicked Castle Adult Theme Park for four. And here's the best part: I was the winner. They'd been announcing my name on the radio for the past 5 minutes.

Talk about embarrassing.

"Come on, Bella," Angela said. "It will be fun! What's a little promiscuous fun here and there?"

"Angela!!" This girl was starting to scare me. She was always so sweet, so innocent. Unless… "Have you been drinking?"

"Maybe just a little bit," she said. "Besides, I told you that my boyfriend was the financial manager for the theme park, and that he'd get to pick the winner!"

"Yeah, but…come on, Angela! Me? Have fun at an adult theme park? You know how I feel about places like that!" I struggled to get the key to my dorm out of my purse, and almost tripped because I was trying to do it while walking.

Again. When will I ever learn?

"Bella, please? Just call the talk-show," Angela pleaded. She knew I was a sucker for guilt trips. "Just take the trip, and then if you didn't like it, you can murder me afterwards if you want to."

"Fine. But you owe me big time for this, Angela." I was at my dorm-room door, and I hung up my phone. As soon as I walked in, I saw my dorm-mates Alice and Rosalie getting ready for bed and the last day of school at the same time.

"Bella, what's wrong?" Rosalie asked. "You look like Mike Newton just tried to make another move on you and actually succeeded."

"Gee, thanks, Rosalie," I said sarcastically. The curlers in her hair would've looked ridiculous on anyone else, but, as always, she made them look good. "And—" My phone rang again, and the CID told me it was Esme, our friend who was a junior and was renting her own place right now instead of staying in the dormitory that used to belong to her and _her_ dorm-mate who graduated last year, but was now ours. (If that makes any sense at all.)

"BELLA!!"

Oh, crap.

"Hello, Esme. Would you mind not screaming in my ear?" I asked sweetly, putting the phone on speaker while I got ready for bed.

"Well, maybe I wouldn't have to scream in your ear if you'd told at least me that you'd entered yourself for the Wicked Castle Three Week Stay Giveaway!" she practically screamed.

Alice and Rosalie both stopped what they were doing to gape at me, jaws dropping to the floor in their astonishment. Alice was the first to come out of her trance when Esme started wondering aloud if I was still there. She ran to the radio and turned it onto the late-night show where they were blasting my name loud and clear. Rosalie grabbed the phone off the cradle, dialed the number, and took the trip for me, acting as if she had won instead of me.

Not that I minded. I wasn't really in the mood, and I really didn't want the trip for myself.

**EPOV**

_Come on, Isabella Swan_, I thought sarcastically. _Call in and claim your prize, courtesy of my brothers and I._ Her name had been blasted on the radio for almost 15 minutes and she still hadn't called in to claim the trip that my brothers and I had organized with some help from our father. I still wasn't sure me and my three older brothers could pull this off, but it was worth a shot. We'd asked our finance manager, Eric Yorkie, to help with the financial hit this would probably take, what with women being such huge money-spenders that they'd probably shop until we were either bankrupt, or had nothing in stock anymore. That should be fun.

"Miss Isabella Swan, if you're listening, you have won the Wicked Castle Three Week Stay Giveaway. To claim your prize, please call 713-1-HOT-957," the radio announcer said with faked enthusiasm. It was kind of sickening. "HOT 957, who is this?" the talk-show host asked as a faint ring in the background sounded.

"Isabella Swan," a female voice said. "Did I seriously win the contest?"

"Yes, you did." Screaming in the background, and something that sounded like, "Omigod, _omigod_, OMIGOD!!" Now talking into the phone, she said, "Oh, my God, thank you so much!"

"And who are you going to take with you, Ms. Swan?" the announcer asked.

"Oh, that's so a no-brainer. My friends Rose Hale, Alice Brandon, and Esme McCarty." _She's a prep_, I thought. _Wonderful_.

"Well, you four have fun, and, tell me, Isabella, are you hot, or not?"

"I'm so HOT 957." The girl hung up the phone, and the disc jockey started playing the song Low by Flo Rida, I guess in contribution to the theme park. My phone rang, and I looked at the CID. It was Mike Newton, our knight in shining armor who saved the "damsels in distress" at the park.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Cullen?"

"Mike, how many times do I have to tell you?" I asked him. "Just call me Edward."

"Yes, sir," he said. When he didn't speak for a minute, I wondered aloud why he'd called me in the first place. "Well, sir, it's just that…well…Isabella Swan—you know, the winner of the contest?—well, she's not really the type for a theme park like this, and it might intimidate her."

"Well, she certainly sounded jazzed about it on the radio," I said, recalling all of her omigod's.

"Yeah, about that," he said, sounding like he was nervous. "Well, you see sir…that wasn't actually her."

"WHAT! What do you mean that wasn't her?" I was yelling now, and more than one of the staff looked at me with either concern if I'd known them for a while, or fear if they were one of the new workers.

"That was her friend Rose."

"Wait, one of the girls that she was supposed to be bringing with her to the park?"

"Yep."

"Oh, God." I pinched the bridge of my nose with my forefinger and thumb, a gesture I did when I was stressed out or irritated and trying to calm down. "So, what? Are they going to come, or is this Rose character going to come in place of her?"

"Well, knowing Rose, Alice and Esme—the other two that are supposedly coming with her—they'll pretty much persuade her into going. She's a sucker for guilt trips, and Alice plays on that into getting Bella to go shopping. She—"

"How do you know so much about them, Mike?" I asked, feeling a little annoyed that he knew so much about her.

"Oh, well, I go to school with them," he said. "And Bella's also my almost-girlfriend."

"What in the world is an 'almost-girlfriend'?" I asked.

"Well, I've asked her, but she hasn't given me an answer yet," he said, sounding almost proud of himself. "And we've also gone out a few times, but if you ask her, she'll say it was only as friends."

"Well Mike, that's certainly…wow." I didn't know what to say to that. "Thanks for the heads up. Now, please go change. The park will be opening up soon, and we'll need everyone on staff for tonight."

"Yes, sir," he said, hanging up right afterwards. So, Mike and this Isabella Swan. Or, Bella, as he called her. This should be an interesting three weeks.

As I was walking inside the castle to get changed into my work "outfit", I thought, _I wonder if Bella knows he works here as the knight in shining armor?_


	3. Off To The Castle

**Yeah, I don't own this. And neither does mrs. whitlock-hale. Stephenie Meyer and Nina Bangs do.**

**BPOV**

Unbelievable.

I couldn't believe they'd actually persuaded me to come to this place! Despite the fact that they knew how much I resented places like these! I mean, these places are just meant for nerdy guys who can't get dates and are desperate to get some action. And most of the girls who come here are just about the same way.

So why was I letting Alice, Rosalie and Esme drag me to this place? When I said my thoughts aloud, all Alice said was, "Be kind, Bella. It will be fun! I've got a good feeling about going, and you know that my feelings have never led me astray."

Well, that much was the truth.

See, Alice has these "feelings" that have always gotten her out of some jam or another. It's almost like she could see the future. Sometimes it's creepy, but it's helped me get away from Mike Newton's advances on more than one occasion.

"Alice," I said from the back seat of the cab. She was riding shotgun, and Esme, Rosalie and I were in the back seat with me in the middle.

"Yes, Bella?"

"Why are we here again?"

"Well, my dear sister, you happened to win a contest that Angela entered you for, and we decided that it was time for you to have a little fun," she said innocently. The cabbie looked at me, stunned.

"You're Isabella Swan?"

"Uh, just Bella," I said. "Why do you ask?"

"You're the girl who won the three-week stay at the Wicked Castle?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess I am," I said, realizing what this place was actually called. The name itself opened up a whole new insight to what was going to happen these next three weeks. Bad, dirty wicked fun. Complete with guys dressed in skimpy and/or no clothes trying to turn me on with role-playing so I would have sex with them.

Life was just a barrel of laughs.

"Damn, girl," the cabbie said. "You should be more excited! I've been here before with a couple buddies, and it is fun. Kinda scary, but also really cool."

"Uh, thanks. I guess it hasn't really caught up to me yet," I said lamely. Did girls work here also? Great. We pulled up, and I looked out the window. There was a medieval-looking castle that stood about 5 stories high, and in front of the castle stood 4 really hot guys; two had blonde hair, one had brown hair, and the last one had hair that looked to be the color of bronze. From this far away, I couldn't tell what color their eyes were, but they had to be gorgeous.

"Oh."

"My."

"GOD!"

I looked over at my friends. Apparently, they'd just seen the guys that would be greeting us at the castle gate. And, good God, there were certainly a sight for sore eyes!

**EPOV**

I looked at my brothers, then looked at the cab that was pulling up. The giveaway-winner and her friends were supposed to arrive at this time, and we were waiting outside the castle gate, probably looking like a bit of a skeptical brigade. Especially with Emmett crossing his arms like he was and staring off into space. Well, more like _glaring_.

"Dude, lighten up," I heard Jasper say to Emmett. "We don't want to scare the girls into wanting to leave before they get a chance to really enjoy the park." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. _Oh, God_, I thought. _Hell of a time to remind Emmett of what a womanizer he was. Especially when there are 4 first-timers here for 3 weeks._

The cab stopped, and I saw the doors open. Out of the side that was closest to me, I saw a girl with dark brown hair and beautiful pale skin step out. She turned her back on me so I couldn't see her face, and was a little irked. I wanted to know if the beautiful body that belonged to her had a beautiful face to go with it too. She opened the trunk of the car so quickly, I almost missed seeing her face.

Her eyes were twin dark chocolate pools that seemed to go on forever, and I was mesmerized. They might have been a little too big for her facial structure, but where it would've look odd on any other girl, she made it look…kinda sexy.

_EDWARD!!_ My conscience screamed at me. _Seriously? You don't even know the girl! For all you know, she could be some slut who's just friends with the winner. Just look at her shorts! They barely cover that…oh, man._ My conscience stopped for a minute. Thank God.

She shut the trunk of the cab, and the other three were put into view. I looked at my brothers. Emmett seemed to be stunned into oblivion. Jasper looked about ready to drool, and Carlisle…well, I'm not really sure what he was doing, if the truth be told. He looked somewhere between running up to them, and fleeing into the castle.

"Dayam," I heard Emmett say. "Did you ever see any more gorgeous pieces of ass?"

Trust Emmett to ruin the moment by making a comment like that.

"God, Emmett," Carlisle said, seeming to come out of his trance. "Do you ever think about anything other than sex?"

"Nope," he replied. "C'mon, Carlisle. Don't tell me that sex isn't on your mind at least 85% of the time?"

"Emmett," replied our brother slowly. "Unlike you, I don't think of women as sex objects to use at my disposal."

"God, Carlisle," Emmett replied. "One would think you were a virgin like our youngest brother over there."

"Emmett!" I exclaimed. "Will you shut up? The girls are coming over here."

Surprisingly, he did as I asked, and didn't speak. I signaled for one of our staff to bring in the girls' luggage, and he hurried over. The blonde girl seemed to momentarily stun him until the short black-haired girl got his attention.

"Hello? Sir? Could you please stop ogling my best friend and help us with our suitcases?" she asked innocently. I almost started laughing, but stopped myself just in time. The four girls were headed our way. The black-haired girl stuck out a hand out toward us and said, "Hi. I'm Alice Brandon. It's great to be here." We all shook her hand, and when Jasper did, they both seemed to stop for a moment and just looked at each other. When Emmett cleared his throat, both Alice and Jasper seemed to jerk back to reality.

"Anyway," she said, shaking Carlisle's hand. "This is Esme"—she gestured to the one with caramel colored hair—"Rosalie"—the blonde—"and the brunette over there still with the cab is Bella, your winner."

"Thank you, Ms. Brandon," I said, trying to be as polite as possible.

"Oh, please," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "Don't call me that. It makes me feel old. Just call me Alice."

"Alright, Alice, then," I said. I noticed that the boy who was supposed to be bringing in their luggage had missed a bag, and Bella was trying to get it out. When she jerked back, she staggered and almost fell to the ground. I ran over to catch her, and was just in time to break her fall.

"Thank you, Mr.…" She prompted.

"Cullen," I replied. "Edward Cullen."

"Oh, thank you, Mr. Cullen. I—"

"Oh, no," I said, cutting her off rudely. "None of that Mr. Cullen crap. Mr. Cullen is my dad. Just call me Edward, Ms. Swan."

"Then none of that Ms. Swan crap," she replied. "Just Bella."

"Oh," I said. "Then you're our giveaway winner."

I just had to remind her.

"Yeah. I guess I am."

_She doesn't sound very enthusiastic_, I thought. _Maybe that was her friend calling in as her._

"Then let me introduce you to the other co-owners."

"There's more than one?" she asked, her eyes peering up at me.

"Yes. My brothers and I all own the park." I sounded a little smug, but I hardly noticed. However, I did notice the blush that painted her cheeks when I mentioned that little bit of information.

"Oh," she said simply, looking away from me and instead to her friends. Unfortunately, all of her friends were too busy looking at—no, flirting with—my brothers, and didn't catch her eye.

Oh, God.

Bella cleared her throat, and the other girls looked at her.

"Oh, my gosh, Bella!" said the caramel-haired woman. "We're so sorry. This is Carlisle, Jasper and Emmett Cullen, the co-owners of the park. And the guy next to you is—"

"I know who he is, Esme," Bella replied softly. "He's already introduced himself."

"Well, how'd you ladies like a private tour?" Emmett said, subtly raising his eyebrows.

Gag.

"Sure," the blonde said. "But you guys have to keep to yourselves."

"We can do that," Jasper said, looking at Ms. Bran—Alice again. As each of my brothers offered to the other girls, I offered mine to Bella.

"Shall we?" I asked her. A little blush and her gripping my arm like a vise were my only responses from her. _Well, this should be fun._

**Okay. That's it until I post the next chapter! Remembr to review, please?**


	4. Talking

**Okey-dokey. Don't own. If I did, then the Volturi would be dead. Are they dead? No? Then I obviously don't own Twilight. Oh, and Nina Bangs is the one who gave me inspiration to write this story, so. And credit to mrs. whitlock-hale as well.**

**BPOV**

Oh, God.

I'm in trouble.

Here I am alone with a gorgeous guy who's my age, and he's taking me on a private tour. Well, with my friends up ahead of us, but still. A private tour of the Wicked Castle Theme Park. I'm sure nothing can go wrong!

"Bella? Are you alright?" asked the guy escorting me. Good God, but he was gorgeous.

"Yes, I'm fine," I told him, looking down at my feet so that I wouldn't trip in front of him.

"Then why are you looking down?" he asked. "There's so much that you're missing because you won't look up." He tried to get me to look up, but I hesitated. "Come on, you win a pre-paid-for giveaway, and you won't get to enjoy it because you won't look up."

"Okay. Let's get something straight," I hissed, completely blowing up on him. "I didn't want this trip, okay? My friend Angela entered my name without my knowing, and I just happened to win."

"Angela?" he asked. "You mean Eric Yorkie's girlfriend?"

"The one and only," I replied, sighing a little.

"Angela _Weber_?" he asked incredulously. "There's no way. She's way too nice."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too," I told him. "However, you've never seen her when she's been drinking. She can get down-right scary when she's drunk."

"Angela got drunk?" he asked disbelievingly. I looked up to his face, and he was kinda trying hard not to laugh. "Somehow, I find that hard to believe."

"Well, believe it," I told him. "She gets really wild when she's drunk."

"Wow. A drunken Angela. I'd like to see that someday," he replied mostly to himself.

"Uh…" I started, unsure of how to put this. "No, I don't think you do."

"Why?" he asked, stopping behind his brothers automatically.

"Well, she—"

"YO! Edward!"

We both looked up, and Emmett—the big brunette—was waving us over to him from the front of the line.

"What's up, Emmett?" he asked, dropping my arm and walking over to his brother. The other two guys went up to him too, and the girls came over to me.

"Oh, my God, you guys," Alice started. "Those guys are gorgeous!"

"Tell me about it!" Rosalie replied, practically jumping up and down from excitement. "Emmett is so sexy!"

"Geez, Rose," I said. "Calm down. We don't want to give the poor guy a heart attack!" She thinks about sex way too much for our liking, but we love her anyway.

"Sorry, but I'm just telling the truth."

"It's okay, Rose," Esme said. So, what did the guys talk to you three about?"

"Well…apparently, Edward knows Angela," I said. "When I told him that she'd entered my name into the giveaway, he was just as shocked as we were when we found out. Turns out she's got MPD."

"Bella, stop being so dramatic," Alice chided me. "That's mine and Rosalie's specialty, and it doesn't really suit you anyway."

"Gee, thanks, Alice," I said. "And what did Jasper talk to you about?"  
"Guys," she said softly. "I think they might be the ones."

"Alice, what are you talking about?" I asked.

"You know, our one true loves."

"Alice, sweetie, you're talking fairy-tale-nonsense," I told her. "In case you forgot, there's really no such thing as happily-ever-after. I thought you learned that the hard way."

"Thanks for bringing up such a painful subject, Bells," she said. "Anyway, I believe in second chances. Maybe Jasper is my second chance at love."

"Alice…please. Don't do this to yourself, honey," Rosalie said.

"Fine. New subject. What did Emmett talk to you about?"

"Oh," she said hesitantly. "Well, he's a perv, just like the rest of them, but he's also kinda sweet. And…he didn't actually look at my _body_ when he talked to me. He looked at my _face_. And not my lips, either, but my _eyes_. He was talking to _me_."

"Wow, Rose," I said. "And how often does that happen?"

"Honestly, Bella?" Rose asked. "All they guys at school and in the real world think about is pretty much sex, money, sex, power and sex. Did I mention sex, Bella?"

"Uh, yeah, about every other time, Rose," I said, turning about 6 different shades of red. I'm sure I resembled a fire truck right then.

"Bella, I'm only telling it like it is," she said.

"Rose, I appreciate it, but I really don't need to hear all of this." I knew what the majority of the male species wanted, but I didn't need to hear it spelled out for me. Especially not in explicit detail like I knew Rosalie would do.

I looked at the guys and wondered what they were talking about…

**EPOV**

The girls were huddled together, talking in hushed whispers.

"Dude, they are gorgeous," Emmett said. "What I wouldn't give for some action with Rosalie."

"Emmett, please!" I said. "Do you have to be thinking about sex 24/7?"

"Eddie—"

"Don't call me that."

"Fine, _Edward_. If you knew what sex feels like, you'd be thinking about it 24/7 too."

"Ugh. There's more to life than sex, Emmett," Carlisle said. "You just have to learn to balance them equally and learn a little more self control."

"Geez, Carlisle," Emmett said. "Prude-much."

"Okay, you two," Jasper said. "No need to get into a fight about how often to think about sex."

"Thank you, Jasper," I said. "Now. When should they get their first taste of the park?"

"Um," Carlisle started. "Let's give them some time to settle in first, and we can start their fantasies tomorrow night if they want to."

"Carlisle, it's only 2 p.m. They can do their fantasies tonight, if they wish," Emmett said.

"Emmett? Can you shut up for a second?" Jasper asked.

"God," he said. "You guys are acting like a bunch of girls."

"Emmett! Please!"

"Sorry."

"Now," I said. "Where are they staying?"

"They're staying in the four Tower Rooms," Carlisle said. "That way, they can have some privacy from the other guests."

"That's smart," I said. "And it also has those passageways to the main room in case they need anything at any time, and has the bell-pull if, God forbid, one of them is hurt, alone and can't get up."

"Guys," Jasper said. "I have this feeling about these girls."

"What, Jasper?" I asked. His feelings were like instincts. They were never wrong.

"Guys, I might sound like a stupid holiday movie on Lifetime, but…I really think these girls are our soul mates," he said, not looking at any of us, but instead, choosing to look at the ground.

"God, Jasper," Emmett said. "You do sound like a really cheesy Lifetime/Hallmark movie."

"Okay, you two, break it up," I said. "But, Jasper might be right, Emmett. Don't you feel like…I don't know, like Rosalie somehow feels…_right_ to you?"

"Now that you mention it," Emmett said thoughtfully. He really did seem to be pondering this seriously. "As much as I hate to admit this, Edward…you're right."

"Really?" we asked our brother. "Has the sex-crazed steroid-popping Emmett finally given thought to settling down in the past 10 minutes?"

"Okay, 1: I don't take steroids, and you know it, Jasper. 2: I've not given thought to settling down yet, and 3: I'm not sex-crazed. Is it such a bad thing that I want to enjoy myself while I'm on this earth?"

"Alright, enough with the sarcasm," Carlisle said. "Don't you think we should be giving the girls the rest of the tour?"

"Yeah. Let's go get them."

We broke up and looked to see the girls just coming out of their huddle.

"So, you girls ready for the rest of the tour?"


	5. Meet Mike Officially

**Nope. I still don't own Twilight. If at least Caius is dead, then I own it. However, Caius is still—well, not alive—but existing in his unhappiness. I guess I'll just have to stick with wishing on the first star at night.**

**EPOV**

"Yes, we are," Bella said. Her skin looked pink as she walked away from the girls and caught up to my brothers and me. "You girls coming?" she asked, turning towards them.

"Yes, we'll be right there, Bella," Alice said, getting the other two girls' attention and pulling them with her toward us. She automatically ran to Jasper, and they locked their arms together. Wonder what that's all about.…

**APOV**

Oh, my gosh. I can't believe it. I really think Jasper might be the one for me; my missing piece; my one true love; my heart's duet. What can I say? I love the movie _Enchanted_! But the twist on the end where Prince Edward—oh, my God!! I cannot wait to tell Bella! She'll be so psyched! Then again, she might faint, or blush, or whatever weird thing she does when she gets surprised…

"Alice, what are you thinking about?" I heard Jasper ask.

"Nothing, Jasper," I replied, looking up at him. "Just thinking that your brother has the same name as the prince in the movie _Enchanted_. And I can't wait to tell Bella!"

"Whoa, Alice, calm down," he said, putting his free hand on my arm. "So, what were you girls talking about?"

"Oh, nothing that need concern you guys," I said flirtatiously. Might as well have some fun while I'm here. And find out if Jasper really is my true love. "What were _you_ guys talking about?"

"Nothing that need concern you," he replied, throwing my words back at me. I did the mature thing and stuck my tongue out playfully at him. "Oh, come on, Alice. Don't be like that."

"Be like what, Jasper," I asked innocently. I looked around and noticed that we were on a drawbridge going over a moat. "Wow. You guys take this stuff seriously, don't you?"

"Of course," he replied. "It has to be as real as possible so that when the people come, they can easily believe everything is real."

"Oh. That makes sense. So, what do you do for the castle besides run it?" I asked, genuinely curious. Surely there had to be more to his job than just running the place?

"Well," he started nervously. "I'm the castle's resident evil vampire." His cheeks started to turn pink.

"So, what does the job entail?" I pried, wanting to know more about this guy.

"Well, whoever comes into my 'liar' is dressed up in all white. Kind of like the virgin sacrifice. Anyway, I scare them witless, and our knight in shining armor comes and saves them. Complete with a sword, shield, and horse," he said, sounding amused at the last part.

"Okay. So what do the other guys do?" I wanted to know as much as possible so that I could get to work on the other girls' wardrobes for the next three weeks. I had so much shopping to do!

"Okay, don't laugh, but Carlisle is the Dark Sorcerer, Edward is the Outlaw Pirate, Emmett is a Highland Barbarian, and we have one other guy—his name's Jacob—and he's our Amazon."

I laughed anyway. I could just picture the guys as their respective characters, even if I'd never met one of the guys he'd mentioned, but one thing was kinda getting to me…"Hey, who's the knight in shining armor that you mentioned earlier?"

He started laughing. "Well, I think you know him, Ms. Brandon. Our knight in shining armor happens to be a Mr. Mike Newton. Sound familiar?"

I started cracking up. Mike _Newton_? A_ knight in shining armor?!?_

"Hey, Alice!" I turned to the sound of my name.

"Yeah, Rose?" I managed through my laughing fit.

"What's so funny?" The other girls looked at me expectantly. I could see the burning curiosity in their eyes.

"Oh, my gosh, you'll never guess who the knight in shining armor is here!" I exclaimed, breaking away from Jasper and running to my friends.

"Okay, you've got us, Alice," Bella said. "Should we be scared?"

"Terrified," I answered back, smiling an evil smile. "Especially you, Bella."

"Why…?"

"It's Mike!!"

"What's Mike?" she asked, either not wanting to believe it, or not absorbing it.

"The knight in shining armor! It's Mike Newton!!"

Bella paled a little, then she and the other girls started laughing hysterically.

"I take it you girls know Mike?" Carlisle asked, seeming a little confused by their shrieks of laughter.

"Do we know Mike," Rosalie said, maliciousness coloring her tone. "Of course we know Mike. He tries to ask Bella out only every other day and spreads rumors that he and Bella are going out."

"Gee, thanks for telling them, Rose," Bella said, looking at the ground and blushing like crazy. "And Mike does not spread rumors about us."

"Don't be so sure, Bells," Esme said. "He's also saying—"

"I don't need to hear what else he's supposedly saying, Esme," Bella said, getting defensive for some reason she really didn't like Mike like that, did she? Unless…

"Bella?"

"What, Alice?"

"Do you like him?"

"Alice! How can you even ask that? You know we're just friends!"

"Then why are you defending him?" Rosalie asked.

"Rose," she groaned. "Like I said, we're friends. I don't like when people talk about you behind your back, or behind anyone else's back. So why are we talking about Mike behind his back?"

"Speak of the devil," I muttered. Almost as soon as the words left my mouth, Mike walked out from behind a wall as we were walking into what I guessed was the Great Hall of the castle.

"Hey, guys!! Wow, I can't believe you won, Bella!" He sounded like the "happy" puppy he was, even though he was 20 and probably knew better.

"Hey, Mike," Bella said, clearly uncomfortable because of Mike's little "problem". "Yeah, I can't believe it either."

"I didn't think you were interested in this kind of thing," he said, either not knowing he was so obviously turned on by her, or not caring about it and wanting her to see it. Which is kinda sick, if you ask me. "That's why I never invited you or told you that I work here."

"Oh," she said, obviously not knowing what to say to that.

**JPOV**

Okay, well this is a little on the weird side.

So, Mike already knows the girls, and claims Bella as his, but she denies it, and claims they're just friends. Oh, and he has an obvious woody because of Bella. But from how the other girls are acting, they don't like him at all. Wonder what that's all about.…

"You guys know each other already?" I asked Mike.

"Yeah," he answered. "We go to school together."

"That's cool," I replied. "Do you have any classes together?"

"Yeah, actually, we do," he said. "We have English Lit. together, and also Classical Music with the other girls, but—"

"Wait," Edward said. Oh, boy. Mike said the magic words…"Classical Music?"

"Yeah, but I'm nowhere _near_ as good as Bella is," he said with a touch of pride in his voice.

"Mike, I'm not that good, and you know it," Bella whispered, so low I almost didn't hear her. She looked down, and her cheeks started to burn red, apparently something she did easily and frequently. She'd seen Mike's little "friend". Literally little!

"What do you play?" Carlisle asked, looking at Bella and Mike.

"Well, I play percussion, Alice plays clarinet, Rosalie plays French horn, Esme plays oboe, and Bella plays a mean flute," Mike said, staring adoringly at Bella.

"Mike, please," she started begging. "Stop. You know how I feel about exaggerations."

"Sorry, Bella," he said, looking at her with true apology in his eyes. "But I'm just telling it like it is. You really are good. You probably could've gotten into Julliard if you wanted to."

"Mike," all 4 girls said warningly. Amazingly, he shut up and just looked at them, but first he said, "Well, I've got to go get ready for work."

"Uh, Mike?" Edward said. "It's only, like, 2:00. The park doesn't even open till sundown. We don't have to start getting ready until about 5:30 or so."

"So?" he asked. "I have a little more to put together than you and your brothers, Mr. Cullen. Remember, I have to fit into a full set of armor. Complete with cleverly-designed weapons."

"Mike?" Edward asked. "I realize this. Keep in mind, I and my bothers did the research to help the blacksmith who did your costume know what to create. And how many times do I have to tell you? None of that Mr. Cullen—garbage." He hesitated. Probably so the girls didn't know that he cursed like a sailor when aggravated. Except it took a lot to aggravate Edward. And it seemed Mike was doing a pretty good job of it.

"Of course, sir," Mike said. Edward groaned and I knew that it was because he hated being called sir. It made all of us feel older than we really are. And with Edward being only 19, that really wasn't a good thing.

Mike went on his way—to do what, I didn't want to know—and Edward turned back to the girls.

"Sorry about that," he said. "He always does that; calls me Mr. Cullen, even though I've asked him repeatedly to stop and just call me by my name. It's very…irksome."

"Hey, I understand, Edward," Bella said. I could feel her gratefulness that Mike was gone from where she was. "All my college professors call me Ms. Swan, even though they know I hate it."

"Yeah, well, that's college," Emmett said. "But if you travel with the right people in college, you get into a great frat and—"

"Emmett, please. Don't," Carlisle whispered to our brother. "Not when they just got here and don't even know us. I don't want to frighten them off."

"God, Carlisle, I was only kidding," Emmett said. Yeah, right.


	6. Surprises

**Yeah, I don't own these characters. Stephenie Meyer does, and Nina Bangs' Wicked book series gave me this idea. And half credit goes to mrs. whitlock-hale for helping me write this story. She's so amazing! Love you, mrs. whitlock-hale!**

**CPOV**

Lord help us.

I really hope Emmett doesn't scare these girls away with his perverted mind. I would hate for them to think that we're all like that. For Esme to think _I'm_ like that…she probably wouldn't talk to me. That would be unbearable…

Wait. Where did _that_ come from? I didn't even know this woman, yet I was already thinking that I couldn't be without her. Man, does that sound creepy and stalker-ish.

"Emmett, please be serious about this," I practically begged. "If we scare them away with your perverted mind, it would be bad business. Dad's counting on us to take care of this park, and we can't do that if people won't come."

"I know that, Carlisle," Emmett told me. "No need to lecture me."

"Hey, guys? Where is our room? We kinda wanna go see it and make sure all of our stuff is there."

I turned around to see the raven-haired girl—Alice—staring inquisitively at the guys and I.

"Oh, sorry," I said. I'm such an idiot for not realizing that they might be tired after their cab ride here. "If you ladies will follow us to the Tower Rooms, we'll be happy to get you settled in. You can go exploring around the park if you wish. The castle really doesn't open up after sundown, but the rest of the park is open."

"Okay, thanks," Bella said. Edward offered her his arm and she took it, hanging onto it with an ease that they didn't seem to notice. _Maybe Jasper's right_, I thought. _Maybe these girls would be good for us._

I offered Esme my arm, and she took it. I noticed that Jasper had done the same to Alice, but Emmett just offered Rosalie his hand. Surprisingly enough, she didn't seem to mind that. We led the girls to the elevator that would lead us to their rooms, but when the doors opened, Jacob—our Amazon at the park during work hours—stepped off, and seemed to stop in his tracks.

"Jacob?!?"

All four girls had yelled his name, and he seemed to come out of his trance.

"Oh, my God!" he exclaimed. The girls let go of us and ran to him, all hugging him at once. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Jake, you didn't hear?" Bella asked, pulling back from him a little. He let them all go.

"Hear what?" He seemed genuinely confused. I looked to my brothers and they were confused as well. How did the girls know Jacob?

"Don't you listen to the radio, Jake? I won the giveaway," Bella told him. He seemed shocked, and opened his mouth to say something, but Bella cut him off. "Angela. She drank a little too much, and entered my name. So before you go off on me about not knowing I liked this sort of thing, don't."

"Sorry, Bells," he said. "I wasn't going to anyway."

"So, Jacob," Alice said. "Why didn't you let us in on your dirty little secret?"

"Well…I didn't know how you all would react to me having a job like this, and I didn't really want to ruin our friendship," he explained sheepishly.

"Jacob!" the girls exclaimed.

"Wait, how do you guys know each other?" Emmett asked. He was starting to look a little…jealous. Truth be told, I was starting to feel a little on the green side because it seemed like the girls knew our entire staff but us.

"Oh, we went to high school together," Jacob explained to us.

"Hold on a second," Edward said. "Are these the same 4 girls that you told us about when you first started working here 2 years ago? The 4 that were your—and I quote—'best friends with who you did everything with'?"

"Yep," he said. "Bell, Ali, Rose, and Es."

"How did we not see that, guys?" Jasper asked as we all shook our heads. It was pretty obvious if we'd just paid attention.

"Jake!" Alice said. "You talk about us at work?"

"Yeah," he replied. "Why not? Besides, everyone thinks the stories about high school are hilarious."

"What stories?" all 4 of them said, raising one eyebrow in synch. It was a little unnerving, and I could see Jacob getting a little nervous.

"Nothing, terrible," I said, trying to not to show my emotions to the stories that came back from when Jacob became comfortable with everyone here at the castle.

"Fine, just take us to our room, and let us deal with Jake," Rosalie said. She sounded a little pissed off at Jacob, and I could see that he was now terrified of what they might plan to do to him while they were here.

This would be an interesting 3 weeks.

**RPOV**

I'm going to kill Jake.

I'm going to rip him apart limb from limb, burn the pieces and scatter the ashes so that no one will find him. I don't care if he is my best guy-friend.

The guys showed us to our rooms—yes _rooms_, as in plural. We all had our own rooms, but they were connected by doors—and left us alone with Jake.

"Jacob!" I yelled as soon as we were alone with him. "How could you?"

"I'm sorry, Rosalie, but I honestly didn't think you'd ever meet the guys, let alone like them as much as you do already," he said.

"What do you mean, 'like them as much as we do already'?" Esme asked sternly.

"Well, when I got off the elevator, I could already see how much you liked them."

"Oh, Jake!" Bella said. "Fine, just tell us what you told them."

"Um……" He seemed reluctant to answer her. If he told them anything embarrassing about us, then I would personally see to it that his reputation here at the castle was ruined. And I knew just what to say if it should come to that.…

**JPOV**

Oh, crap. I'm in trouble.

I knew I shouldn't've told anyone those stories about the numerous parties I used to have in high school. I should've known they'd come back to bite me in the ass sooner or later.

"Um……" I really didn't want to tell them. I could see Rosalie plotting to kill me—once again—and Bella turning fire-engine red.

"Jacob, please," Alice said. "Just tell us, and we promise we won't kill you." She turned to Rosalie. "Right, Rose?"

"Fine, whatever. Just tell us which stories you told them."

"Uh," I started. "Well, there was the one about Christmas where all 4 of you did that show for the school talent show your senior year, and—"

"_JACOB_!"

Ow. They probably don't realize how loud they were when they all scream at once.

"Jake!" Bella cried. "Why did you tell them about it?!?"

"I'm sorry, Bella!" I said. "Although I have to admit, all 4 of you looked really sexy in those little elf costumes you all wore."

"Not helping your cause, Jacob," Esme said. Uh, oh.

"Girls, please. I'm really sorry," I pleaded in my defense. "I honestly didn't know that you didn't want me to tell anyone that story. Anyway, the entire school saw it, and it's been posted on YouTube multiple times, but—"

"_YouTube?_" Bella whispered. "We're on _YouTube_?"

"Bells, honey, I'm honestly sorry. I tried to tell everyone that posted it to take it off, but they wouldn't listen," I told her, honestly feeling sorry for her and sympathizing with her. I would've been mortified if I were her. Even though she didn't trip during their performance and looked sexy as hell, she didn't really feel comfortable on stage, let alone wearing a revealing outfit like the one she was wearing then. Which reminded me…"Bella? Why are you wearing Alice's short shorts?" I instantly answered my own question. "Really, Ali? Why can't you just let Bella wear her own clothes?"

"Well, Jake," Alice started. "I wanted her to make a lasting impression."

"Oh, I think I made a lasting impression when I tripped and Edward, of all people, had to catch me and put his arm around my bare waist," Bella snarled at Alice.

"Wait, what?" I asked. "He touched your bare waist?"

"Uh, yeah, kinda," she stuttered, turning red again. "I tripped, and he was the only one in close vicinity, besides the cabbie who I did _not_ want touching me, thank you very much."

"Ok, sorry, sweetheart," I said. She really didn't mind when I used pet names with her. None of them did. They were all like my sisters, and I loved them like they were my sisters.

I hung around for a while, we all caught up, and before I knew it, it was almost sundown. The park would be opening soon!

"Hey, I'm really glad we did this, girls, but I have to go get ready for work," I told them, standing up and heading to their door.

"Are you serious?" Alice asked. She jumped up and started heading to her suitcase. "Oh, my God, we haven't even unpacked yet!" She started throwing stuff everywhere. "Oh, Jake, why did you keep us so long? Ugh! What will we wear?"

"Alice, calm down," I said. "If you want to participate in the fantasies tonight, they have costumes for customers to wear."

She stopped throwing her clothes everywhere and looked at me. "Really?"

"Yes, Ali, they do. Hey, if you want to be first on the lists, you better hurry up. Though, I think all of you are already first if you want to. Part of the giveaway is you get to participate in any fantasies of your choice while you're here. You can try all of them, none of them, whatever."

"How many are there, Jake?"

"Well, there are 5. The Outlaw Pirate, which is Edward, the Dark Sorcerer—Carlisle—the Evil Vampire—Jasper—the Highland Barbarian, played by Emmett, and the Amazon, played by yours truly," I told them.

"Yeah, Jasper already explained it to me," Alice said.

"So," I started. "You girls ready to live your fantasies?"

**I couldn't resist putting in some of Rosalie's anger before I gave y'all Jake's POV. And don't get mad at me if you don't like Jake's role. Bella already has Mike after her like a puppy, and I didn't think she needed another admirer. So, just deal if you don't like it now. Just R&R, please.**


	7. Mishaps in the Locker Room

**I'm just gonna stop doing the disclaimers. Y'all should already know who I give credit to for the characters, some of the story plot, and help with writing this. (Stephenie Meyer, Nina Bangs and mrs. whitlock-hale in that order)**

**EsPOV**

This should be fun. I just hope that there's nothing at this park that's too…_sexual_, I guess, is the word I'm looking for. _Oh, there I go again_, I thought to myself. _Acting like the mother hen the girls have always told me I am._

**EmPOV**

_Oh, boy_, I thought. _Tonight is gonna be sweet!_

"Emmett! Are you going to get ready for tonight, or are you just going to stand there looking at yourself in the damn mirror like a preteen girl?"

I turned around and saw Jasper waiting for a response.

"Sorry, man, I'm just too sexy," I replied, striking a pose, then I started to put on the plaid I used as a costume for the night's work. _Yeah, but sexy enough for a new gorgeous piece of ass named Rosalie Hale!_

Now, don't get me wrong, I try to be nice to them. I really do. But sometimes, they're just so damn beautiful, I can't help myself. Ever since I lost my virginity, I've been…well, "perfecting my technique" is how I like to put it. Some people—cough, cough, my brothers, cough—would call it perverted and sex-crazed, but is it really a crime if I want to enjoy my time on this earth?

"Oh, don't make me vomit," I heard my youngest brother say.

"You know, little brother, if you'd given into temptation like the rest of us during high school, this prudishness of yours wouldn't be there," I told him. Edward didn't want to "do the deed" until he was married. And while I never questioned him about it much, I still didn't understand it. Maybe Bella…I saw how cozy they were earlier…no, Edward won't. Stupid goody-goody…although he didn't look too goody-goody with his billowing white shirt open to mid-chest, form-fitting black leather pants and boots, complete with a state-of-the-art saber.

"Emmett, please," Edward said simply. He looked around like he was looking for something.

"Watcha looking for, little bro?" I asked, trying not to snicker.

"None of your business, Emmett," he said.

"Well, someone's touchy tonight!"

"Emmett, shut up. In case you haven't noticed, Carlisle, Jasper and I all think that these new girls might be the right ones for us. And we don't know how to go on about it in front of them."

"Well, I'm sorry, but romance really isn't my thing," I told him. I saw Jasper and Carlisle looking at me incredulously and I just shrugged. "Well, it's not."

"Oh, do shut up, Emmett," Carlisle said, looking surprisingly realistic with his dark robes and high collar. On anyone else, it would probably look stupid. But for some reason, we made the most ridiculous things look pretty cool. "Jasper, did you lose something?"

"Yeah, I can't find my fangs," he said, looking underneath his clothes that were on the bench. He was already in costume with his all-black suit and black cape, but the outfit looked ridiculous if you didn't have the fangs that looked freakishly real. "And Edward can't find his cravat for his costume either."

"You can't find your cravat?" Carlisle asked our youngest brother. "Do you realize how much that cost? Let alone how hard it was to find?"

"I know, Carlisle," Edward snarled. "And I normally keep it in a safe place, but it's not there anymore!"

"Where is it normally?" I asked, careful to conceal my emotions. Edward and Jasper were gonna hate me for this, but…

"I normally keep it in a safe compartment in my locker, but it's not there," he said.

"Okay, Jasper, where do you normally keep your fangs?" Carlisle asked.

"I usually keep them with Edward's cravat," Jasper replied, starting to lose his cool a little.

"So, whoever took Edward's cravat probably also took your fangs," Carlisle said to Jasper. "And whoever took Edward's cravat had the locker combination to his locker…Emmett!"

"Don't look at me," I said. "The girls are both very pretty without their little add-ons—"

"Emmett, please give them back," Carlisle said. "Now is not the time to be playing practical jokes on them, _little brother_."

God, I hate it when he calls me that. And he _knows_ it, dammit!

"Geez, Carlisle, chill," I said, pulling both cravat and fangs out of the pocket of my jeans which were now in my locker. I handed them to Edward and Jasper, who glared at me as they took them back. I looked at my watch on top of my clothes and realized that it was almost time to go to work. I put the finishing touches on my costume, and saw Jacob racing into the locker room.

"Jacob, where have you been?" Carlisle asked. "It's almost time, and you're still not in costume."

"Sorry, Carlisle, I got caught up with the girls," he explained, starting to strip.

"What do you mean, 'got caught up with the girls'?" Jasper asked, a little hint of protectiveness coloring his tone.

"Well, I haven't really seen them since we all graduated high school, and I've missed them," he explained. "Sure, we e-mail and send letters and cards when needed, but we've never really talked face-to-face in the longest time. So we got caught up, and now I'm late because of them."

"Exactly how long have you known them?" Carlisle asked, curiosity cleverly covering up his little dose of envy.

"Well, basically since 7th grade," he said. "They all moved to town practically at the same time, and were instant friends. Although, Esme was here about a month longer…"

"Okay, well hurry up and get ready," Edward said. I was amazed to hear his faint insinuation of more-than-friendship going on with Jacob and the girls. Truth be told, I was a little jealous of him, too. Wow.

Didn't see _that_ one coming!

Jacob pulled on his skimpy costume—basically a leather throng that covered up everything and also hung a little loose, but also…supported everything—and was getting his weapons when Mike came out from around the corner.

Dressed in full knight regalia.

"Hey, Jake, you know the girls?" he asked.

"Yeah," he said skeptically. "Why?"

"Oh, just wondering," Mike said. "Hey, do you know what Bella's favorite color is?"

"Oh, no," Jacob said. "They told me about you and the rumors that you spread about you and Bella. No way am I giving out any information about them to the likes of you."

Wow. I knew Jacob didn't like Mike, but wow.

"Geez, Jake, no need to get territorial," Mike said, holding up his hands in a vague form of surrender. "I didn't know you cared about them so much."

"Dude, those girls are like my sisters, okay? I love them."

Okay, sucker-punch in the gut. That's how it felt when Jacob said he loved the girls. But where did that even come from? I looked at my brothers and their faces reflected what I was feeling. And that was when I knew.

These girls _were_ the right ones for us.

Holy shit.

**Two chapters in one night! I'm freaking amazing! Y'all should love me. I haven't updated this fast since I started posting The Future! Oh, well. R&R, s'il vous** **plaît. (French for please)**


	8. Getting Ready

**Remember, no disclaimer. Y'all know who I give credit to.**

**RPOV**

Were we really going to do this?

Were we seriously going to do the fantasies our first night here?

Bella voiced my question, and Alice said, "Bella, why do you think I stressed about getting dressed quickly?" And that was no lie. Alice was like a drill sergeant with all her hollering at us to hurry our asses up. "Of course we're doing this. Otherwise, what was the point in coming here to begin with?"

"Uh, Earth to Alice," Bella said. "Remember, I didn't want to come here, but you and Rose made me?" We got off the elevator and started heading for the place where the line started for the fantasies.

"Oh, come on, Bella," I said. "This could be fun for you. And good for you, too. You really need to learn how to loosen up."

"Oh, shut up, Rosalie," Bella said, exasperated. "It's yours and Alice's fault that we're here. I didn't want to be here, remember?"

"Yes, Bella. You said so about 30 seconds ago," I told her. Yes, she was being a little bit of a bitch, but I completely understood how she felt. Truth be told, if I were in her shoes, I would probably be pissed at me, too.

"What do you think they do for the fantasies?" Bella asked. She seemed a little nervous as we got to the starting point of the line.

"Well, Jasper told me what they do," Alice explained. "Basically, they scare the heck out of you, and the knight in shining armor—unfortunately portrayed by Mike Newton—saves you if you're a girl."

"And if you're a guy?" I asked.

"Uh, I didn't think to ask," Alice said. She started smirking.

"What are you thinking, Alice?" Bella asked warily.

"Well, have you seen any women around this place yet?" she asked, laughter in her eyes. When Bella and I shook our heads, I got the gist of what Alice was saying.

"Oh, wow," I said, looking at Alice. When our eyes met, we started laughing our asses off.

"And just what are you ladies laughing at?" a woman asked. She was dressed as Xena the warrior princess, but she had a little name tag that said her name was Tavi.

"Oh, nothing," Alice replied. "Anyway, my friend Bella here won your 3-week giveaway, and we're here to start our first night at the fantasies!"

"Oh! Right this way, ladies!" the girl exclaimed. She led us to a room that turned out to be a changing room. There were a bunch of clothing racks that had a little tab on the ends of them. "Now, you see the tabs on the ends here?" she asked. When we all nodded, she continued. "These tell you which fantasy the clothes on that particular rack are for. For instance"—she pulled out a soft-yellow-colored 17th century satin gown—without that awful hoopskirt, thank God—that had a low décolletage and a pale pink ribbon that tied just below the breasts—"this particular gown would be worn by a someone who wanted to play a young virgin that was kidnapped by the Evil Vampire"—she put that one back and pulled a dress from a different rack that looked like it belonged to the Renaissance Era, but instead of a black skirt to match the bodice of the gown, it was blue, silver and black plaid—"and this dress would be something you would wear if you wanted to confront our Barbarian Highlander. We carry every size—even the smaller sizes for our smaller guests—and—yes?"

Alice lowered her hand. "How do we know which part we play just by dressing up?"

"I'm glad you asked," Tavi said. "There are little tags on the inside of each outfit that helps you decide which role you would like to play. The people who work here know what to look for to help them decide how to play _their_ parts, so there's no need to worry that our workers won't know how to get into character. When you've picked out your outfits, just come into the next room and we'll fit you for the rest of it. Now, anymore I can do for you ladies?"

"Uh, no, I think we got it, thank you," Bella said. She went over to one of the racks and pulled out another outfit. It was basically a tight white off-the-shoulder shirt, a black corset that doubled as a push-up bra, and a pink satin skirt that had a slit on each side that went all the way to mid-thigh.

"Dang, Bella!" Alice said. "You should totally wear that!"

"Alice!" Bella exclaimed, turning at least 5 shades of red.

"Bella, come on, that outfit is seriously sexy!" Alice exclaimed. Then she turned to Tavi. "Which character is that for?"

"Well, that particular outfit is for a very bold female pirate captain who's been taken over by our Outlaw Pirate. However, there are some rules for the…_sexier_ outfits," Tavi said. "For example, despite the fact that we are an adult theme park, we wish for our customers to know that there is no sex allowed during the fantasies, and the farthest you can go is a simple kiss. Kissing is permitted as long as none of the other customers see. We try to keep the jealousy to a minimum here."

"Of course," Esme said. "Bella, you don't have to wear that if you don't want to, hon."

"Esme, come on!" Alice said. "Bella should totally dress like that. Edward would probably go crazy!"

"Alice!" Bella and I said at the same time. "Alice, come on," I told her, trying to rein her in for Bella's sake. "We've only known these guys for, what, a couple hours? We've got 3 _weeks_ to try everything here, not 3 _days_!" In the back of my mind, I noticed that Tavi was going into the next room. Apparently she didn't want to hear this.

**BPOV**

My friends are unbelievable! Especially Alice!

I can't believe they seriously wanted me to dress up like a busty pirate just to try and seduce a guy a barely know! Well, not seduce, per se, but certainly drive him crazy. As if I could do that anyway.

"Alice, come on," Rosalie said. "We've only known these guys for, what, a couple hours? We've got 3 _weeks_ to try everything here, not 3 _days_!" At first I was thankful that Tavi had gone to the next room, but then Rose had to add, "I'm sure we can get Bella to lose her virginity to Edward by then, and still get a little action ourselves."

"ROSE!" I screamed. "What the heck? I don't want to lose my virginity in a one-night stand!"

"Bella, honey, who's talking about a one-night stand?" Rosalie said. "I'm talking about major loving here!"

"Rosalie, please try to control yourself," Esme said. "If Bella doesn't want to lose her virginity yet, that's her decision. She can decide to stay a virgin for the rest of her life, if she wanted to."

"Thank you, Esme," I said. I'm sure I resembled a tomato, but I truly didn't care. "Shall we pick out our outfits now?" I asked, turning back to the racks that were for the Outlaw Pirate fantasy. I truly did want to look nice for him, but still…that other outfit was just a little too revealing for me to even _consider_ wearing, let alone put on.

I looked to see the other girls getting ready for their fantasies. Rosalie had chosen a sexy-yet-stylish version of highland outfit that Tavi had showed us earlier, Alice had picked the soft-yellow one that Tavi had had out and Esme picked something that made her look like a fairy. The dress itself was white and was off the shoulders, and had a little lace around the sleeves and neck. She looked beautiful.

"Esme," Alice breathed. "You look beautiful!"

"Really?" she asked. "It's not too much?"

"No, you look perfect!" Tavi exclaimed, coming back into the room. "And you will look gorgeous when we put the wings on!"

"Wings?" we asked together.

"Yes, wings. There's a set of ice blue wings that goes with that dress with pale yellow tips. Anyway, with that outfit, she's a fairy queen who's trying to talk our Dark Sorcerer into letting the other fairies live their lives without fear of him," Tavi exclaimed.

"Wow. You've really thought of everything, huh?" I asked.

"Well, that's just how the fantasies start out, so I'm trying to prepare you girls for when you actually go into the room where your fantasies take place."

"Oh," I said. "So, what do you think I should wear?"  
"Well, which fantasy would you like to take part in?"

"Um, the one with the Outlaw Pirate," I replied, my skin taking on a blush again.

"Oh-ho-ho, does someone have the hots for Mr. Edward?" Tavi asked. "I don't blame you. The man is pretty gorgeous. Oh, well. I've got too many men in my life to look for another one, so anyone's free to have him."

"Uh, thanks," I said, blushing even deeper. "And I was thinking about wearing something that's not too revealing, but also comfortable."

"Ok, what role are you thinking?" Tavi said, going over to the racks and searching through the clothes.

"Um, I'm not sure yet. I just want to find something that I'll feel comfortable wearing," I said, going to see what she was pulling out. It was a gorgeous dress made of what looked to be pale green suede. The style was strictly 16th century, but it wasn't as revealing of some of the one's I'd seen on the internet, and didn't have the hoopskirt, either. The corset portion was the color of cream and laced up in the back. The flowing sleeves looked like they would drag the ground when I walked and I was worried about that. When I voiced my worry, the girls told me that it was unnecessary and that I wouldn't trip. I put it on, and the soft material seemed to be cut specifically for me. The suede seemed to flow with my body.

"Bells, you look stunning!" Alice and Rosalie said. They signaled for me go turn around, and I did. "Esme, doesn't she look beautiful?" Alice asked.

"Bella, you really do look wonderful," Esme told me. I started blushing at their remarks, but I didn't say anything.

"If you ladies will follow me to the next room, we'll get the rest of your ensembles together, and then it will be off to your fantasies!" Tavi said. I had a feeling tonight was going to be one we wouldn't forget.…

**Okay, I do have to say that I found inspiration for the clothes using Google Images. However, if you looked for a specific dress, don't bother. I couldn't find what I had in mind, so I just made them up. Except for Esme's costume and the costume that Bella had pulled out at first. You can find those if you look hard enough.**


	9. Jasper the Evil Vampire

**Remember, no disclaimer. Y'all know who I give credit to, I hope.…**

**MPOV**

_I wonder if the girls are going to participate_, I thought. _No, scratch that. I wonder if_ Bella _is going to participate tonight…focus, Mike! Don't think like that right before the job starts._

"Mike! You okay, man?"

I looked to see the castle's financial manager and my best friend Erik Yorkie staring at me with worry in his eyes.

"I'm fine, Erik, why?"

"Well, you looked a little lost for a second there, and you're acting funny."

"Funny how?" I asked.

"Uh, you just had this pleased look on your face, then it shifted to one of…I dunno, pain, I guess," he said, shaking his head from left to right quickly.

"Dude, Erik, you look to into things sometimes," I told him, trying not to let him see how unnerved I really was about tonight. Unfortunately, nothing gets past Erik.

"Mike, come on," he said, putting his arm around my shoulders. "Is this about Angela's friends?"

"Dammit, Erik, I hate it when you're right," I told him.

"I know, Mike. But come on. 'Fess up, man. What's got you so worried? The girls will take part in the fantasies tonight, so you've got nothing to be worried about," he said. Then his smile turned smug. "And just think. When it's time for you to rescue Bella, she'll be clinging onto you for dear life because all of the Cullen guys too good at their jobs, and she'll be so grateful, she'll probably grant you with a little thank you kiss!"

"Erik, you always know how to make my day," I told him. Now I was really looking forward to tonight. I just hope that no one else but Bella noticed my little problem.…

**APOV**

"Okay, so who's first," I asked. When no one volunteered, I said, "Fine, you chickens. I'll go first." The dress I was wearing was gorgeous, the make-up they'd done for me perfect, my hair fantastic, and the pink satin slippers were so darn comfortable! I never wanted to take them off! And the satin gloves fit like a dream! I was starting to wish I'd lived in this era…but then I'd probably have to wear those God-awful hoopskirts. Ugh.

I stepped into the room that Tavi directed me to, and I saw that it was made of dark stone. The walls were dimly lit with torches with dying fires, and it was dank and muggy in the room. I could barely see real-looking instruments of torture lining the walls, and I was starting to get a little scared. Even though I knew Jasper wouldn't really hurt me, I was terrified. The open iron maiden seemed to scream as though someone were in it and closed inside. I looked around me, trying calm myself. I heard a door slam, and I screamed a little. God, the people who'd designed this room were fantastic! I was so into character!

"Who's there?" I asked faintly. I was so scared; I wanted to cry. "Hello?"

"Who dares enter my lair?" a voice asked with a faint Romanian accent that reminded me of the 1931 Dracula movie with Bela Lugosi. I looked into the shadows on the other side of the room, but I couldn't see anyone. But I could see a pair of red eyes watching me. The lighting was perfect so that I could only see his eyes, but not the rest of his face. "Ah, the latest beautiful young virgin from the village."

"I'm not afraid of you," I said, trying to put meaning and toughness behind my frightened voice.

"Ah, well, my dear, I'm afraid your frightened pulse gives that little fact away. I can smell your fear, taste it on my tongue, hear it in your heartbeat…you are terrified of me," Jasper said. He was so convincing, I had a hard time remembering that it was really him under the fake accent. He moved into the light, and his face had been painted pale white. His black silk cape and suit looked fabulous on him, but the fangs that were in his mouth looked frighteningly real and deadly. His smile was that of a predator seeing his prey and I had a hell of a time trying to block the scream that threatened to tear itself out of my throat.

He moved toward me as if stalking me, slowly, deadly, as if trying to make me even more afraid of him than I already was (which he probably was), but I didn't think that was possible. Until he was actually in my face and I was staring face-to-face with his deadly-looking fangs.

"Do you have any idea how delectable you look?" he asked, taking a lock of my hair, running it through his fingers, and putting it back into place. He moved his mouth to my jugular, pressed his lips to the vein, and licked it. It was way hot, but the scrape of a fang against it had me quivering in fear again. "Any idea of how delicious you smell?"

"I…I…uh—" I stammered.

"Shh. Do not speak," he said. "Just relax." His hypnotic voice lulled me into a kind of trance and I leaned back into his touch. "Relax…" He angled my head so my throat was exposed. An in closer and he'd touch my neck…he was so close.…

"Unhand her, you fiend!" a voice cried out. Jasper looked up and I opened my eyes, not realizing that I'd closed them in the first place. I looked to a stone staircase I hadn't noticed earlier, and saw Mike standing there in full knight regalia. It would've been funny if I wasn't so into character.

"You dare fight for her?" Jasper asked, his fake Romanian accent making the words seem deadly serious; I was almost afraid for Mike! Jasper let me go only a little, and I dashed out of his arms—unwillingly, I might add—and ran to Mike's—again unwillingly. Jasper licked his lips; a gesture that went unnoticed by Mike.

"I will destroy you, vampire, just like I have destroyed the rest of your coven," Mike said. He sounded so corny.

"So it was you who murdered my family!" Jasper cried. "I will avenge their deaths and kill you!" He ran towards Mike and me, but Mike had pulled out a pouch of what looked to be water, and sprayed Jasper with it. Jasper, completely in character, staggered back, his hand on his face where the water had touched him. He cried out in pain, a totally animalistic sound that sent shivers down my spine.

"Come, fair maiden, while the vampire is distracted with the burn of the holy water," Mike said. "Let us make our escape." He grabbed my waist, pulling me to the stone staircase and out of the dungeon scene. We entered an antechamber, where Mike finally let me go.

"Thank you, Sir Michael," I said, still in character.

"You're welcome, Lady Alice," he said playing along. "Now, would you like to go get changed, or shall we continue?"

"I'll go get changed and see which of the girls are going next," I told him. I couldn't wait to tell the girls all that had happened in that room!

**MPOV**

_So the girls are participating tonight! _I thought._ I wonder who's going next.…_


	10. Emmett the Barbarian Highlander

**No disclaimer.**

**RPOV**

Okay, I think I'm gonna go next, I thought. How bad can it be?

My train of thought was disrupted when Alice burst into the room.

"Oh, my God, you guys!" she shouted. "That was the single, most awesomest, scariest, hottest, sexiest thing in my entire life!"

Well, at least we know how Alice felt about it.

"Spill, Alice," I said, wanting to know everything. "What was it like?"

"Oh, my God, Rosalie, it was so…oh, God, I can't even describe it!" Alice said looking really flustered. "At first I was terrified, everything was so real! But then Jasper came in dressed as a vampire with the Romanian accent and everything. God, he was better than Bela Lugosi!"

"Geez, Alice!" Bella said. "That's kind of a tall order."

"I know, Bella, but it's true!" Alice squealed. "Oh, God, Jasper was so hot during it! Okay, who's gonna go next?"

"I am," I said. I was excited for this now.

**JPOV**

Oh, my God.

I am screwed into the next century.

"Dude, what happened?" I heard Emmett say.

"Guys, I'm in serious trouble," I said. I'd taken out my fangs and taken off my cape for a minute.

"Holy crap, has Mr. Calm finally lost his cool?" Emmett asked.

"Shut up, Emmett," I said. "I have not lost my cool. I've simply lost my heart."

"Jasper, what happened in there?" Carlisle asked, coming to my side.

"Alice," I said simply.

"Uh, oh," Edward said. "What about Alice?"

"She was my virgin sacrifice for her fantasy and I thought I was gonna take her then and there," I told them, seeing no point in lying when the proof was for all to see under my suit. Dammit. And I thought I had such good control over my…uh…_urges_.

"Mr. Emmett?" Tavi asked, sticking her head in the changing room.

"Yes, Tavi?" Emmett asked.

"Your turn, sir," she said, leaving once she'd delivered her message.

"Well, later, boys," Emmett said, pining his plaid over his shoulder. "Looks like I've got a date."

"Emmett—" Carlisle started. But Emmett had already gone to the room to do his thing.

**EmPOV**

Aw, hell.

And just when I thought things couldn't get any worse.

Rosalie was looking around the room at all the weapons on display. Her dress fit her figure beautifully. She looked seriously sexy where other women who'd worn that dress looked ridiculous.

"And what can I do fer ye, lassie?" I asked, letting my excellent Scots accent come to life.

"Weel, ye see," Rosalie started. Her accent was perfect. "Apparently, ye've raised the taxes again. We canna handle it. We doona hae the money."

Hm. This was interesting. I knew for that gown, the wearer was usually bold, but this was different.

"Isnae this something yer father should be discussing with me, lass?" I asked her.

"Me father's dead," she said simply. "And if me father were here, do ye think I would be up here discussing taxes with ye?"

"Ye insolent lass," I said, letting anger take over just a little bit. "How dare ye speak to me with such a tongue? I'll teach ye to talk to a mon with proper respect!"

"I talk to a mon however I want, ye ken," she said looking down. "Me mother taught me tae not let a mon talk down tae me."

"Yer mother must've been a bold lass," I murmured. "Nay, a lass shouldnae be sent tae to a mon's job."

"I am the oldest in me family, and there are no other men, Laird Cullen," she said, lifting her chin boldly.

"'Tis a shame, really," I told her, stalking toward her like the barbarian I was supposed to be portraying. I stroked her hair and she shifted out of my reach.

"Yer a bold mon, Laird Cullen," she murmured. "Ye act freely with a lass's body."

"Weel, yer the first lass tae deny me," I said, actually speaking the truth. Normally women were throwing themselves at me, and I was only too eager to take them up on their offers. I went back to her, wrapping my arms around her waist as she struggled to get away from me.

"Doona touch me!" she screamed, trying to twist away. She was good at this.

**RPOV**

Oh, God.

Alice wasn't kidding. It was like they knew what everyone was afraid of. The girls all knew I was deathly afraid of being raped, and here Emmett was, acting like a tough Scottish laird not used to a woman denying him, and about to rape me. Talk about terrifying!

"Doona touch me!" I screamed, trying to twist away from him. He was seriously starting to scare me now.

"Och, now, lassie, do ye think I'd be trying to hurt ye now?" he asked, a sneer in his voice. I screamed for him to let me go, and he just held me tighter.

"Laird Cullen, please!!" I yelled, trying to push myself away. I looked into his eyes and saw…something. For a brief second, it looked like…pain. Almost like it pained him to hurt me.

Okay, that's just too weird.

"Weesht, yer a fiery lass," he said, chuckling a little on the end. "Ye doona want to hae a wee bit of fun afore ye leave, lassie?" He pulled me toward him and planted a fierce kiss on my mouth. I stopped struggling and was about to throw myself at him when Mike—of all people—interrupted us having to play my "knight in shining armor".

"Lord Cullen," he said in a corny English accent. "Unhand her at once, sir!"

Emmett threw me to Mike none-too-gently and said, "Yer a lucky wee lass. Next time, there'll be no mon tae help ye. I'll make certain of that!" He stalked over to the other side of the room and walked out, slamming the door for effect, I'm sure.

"Well, Rosalie, shall we get you back to the other 3?" Mike asked.

**EmPOV**

I slammed the door to the changing room and my brothers all jumped.

"Dammit, Emmett, do you really have to do that?" Edward asked.

"Chill, Eddie, it was just for effect!" I said.

"Don't call me Eddie," he said absent-mindedly. "And what the hell happened in there? There was so much screaming, we thought you were killing her!"

"Dude, why would I kill Rosalie?" I asked, pulling off my plaid and putting my jeans back on.

"Well it did sound like you were killing her, Emmett," Carlisle said. "What did you do to her?"

"Uh, I just acted my part of the greedy Scottish lord who's interested in any female he sees, and she freaked," I told them. "Hey, she's got a great Scots accent, by the way. It was amazing! It was just about as convincing as mine!"

"That's great, Emmett," Jasper said, his cape off and seeming at ease. "But her fear was palpable, man. I could practically feel it radiating off of her from the other room."

"That's interesting," Carlisle said. Then something seemed to occur to him…"Emmett, do you think she's been sexually assaulted before?"

"I dunno, Carlisle, anything's possible," I said. "I'll talk to her tomorrow. Right now, I just want her to calm down, talk with the girls, and, hopefully, not have nightmares about me."

"Yeah, good luck with that, Emmett," Edward said. I punched his shoulder playfully, and he shoved me back. We continued our little mock-fight until Tavi entered the room again.

"Mr. Carlisle? Your turn," she said.

**Okay, inspiration for Emmett's accent? All the dang highlander books I read! I love them. R&R, please?**


	11. Carlisle the Dark Sorcerer

**No disclaimer, remember?**

**EsPOV**

Rosalie burst into the room, tears threatening to leak down her face.

"Rose, honey, what happened?" I asked, rushing to her side and holding her in a tight embrace.

"Oh, God, Esme," she stammered, the tears running freely down her face. "Esme, it was both pleasant and unpleasant. I don't know how to describe it. On the one hand, Emmett was incredibly sexy during the whole thing. But…oh, God it felt so real." She started crying again, and Alice and Bella huddled around us. They started rubbing Rosalie's back and crooning soft reassurances to her.

"Rosalie," Bella started. "Honey, what did he do?"

"Oh, Bella, I honestly thought he was going to rape me," she said. We all cringed. It was Rosalie's worst fear to be raped. She dug her head into my shoulder and cried a little more.

"Rosalie, honey," Alice started. "Emmett's nothing like Royce." Rose balked at the sound of her ex-fiancée's name. "Sweetie, Royce was an asshole who didn't care how he got his way, just that he got it. Emmett…I have a really good feeling about him. I really don't think that Emmett would do that to an unwilling girl."

"I know, Alice, but…I can't help but seeing Royce's face every time I try to get close to a guy," Rose confessed. "It's never the guy I'm with that I'm seeing, it's always Royce! How can he still rule my life even though he's no longer in it?!?" She collapsed onto a nearby bench and fell into uncontrollable sobs. Alice said she'd see us when we were done—that she would take care of Rosalie—took Rosalie by the shoulders and started leading her up to our rooms. I had a feeling we were gonna have a sleepover tonight.

Tavi came in and asked who was next.

"Well, I guess I'll go," I said. I knew Bella didn't want to go yet, that she was still a little nervous about this. I looked in the full-length mirror one more time, decided that it was as good as it was going to get, and entered the room Tavi told me to.

It was huge. And the stone walls only added to the effect. But instead of the walls being bare, they were lined with shelves upon shelves of different things. A half dozen of the shelves had jars of what looked to be small dead reptiles, and another half-dozen held strange-looking liquid that seemed to glow in different colors.

"Impressed with my collection, Your Highness?" I heard a voice ask. Well, actually, it sneered at the title at the end. I spun around quickly, my wings brushing the ceiling, they were so large (but thankfully weightless), and saw Carlisle sitting on a throne-like chair dressed in a high-collar, dark silk robe, his light hair hidden by the pointed wizard's hat he wore on his head that matched his robe. He looked incredibly convincing and handsome, but I knew this act was just that. An act. However, I couldn't deny the attraction I felt for this man, despite the fact that he scared me half to death.

"It—it's certainly…different," I said with the appropriate level of unease.

"Different," he scoffed. He got off of his throne and walked past me to the wall behind me. He took a jar off the shelf and held it up for my examination. Inside was a small thing that was being preserved in formaldehyde. On closer inspection, I saw that it was a fairy with wings and a dress that matched mine, but in smaller proportion. I looked at it, then stared at him in horror.

"You're a monster!" I whispered, totally into character.

"What is more disturbing, my dear?" he asked sarcastically. "The fact that I have one of your precious fairies in my private stores, or that it was your beloved princess?"

"You have broken our deal time and time again," I said. "You have promised my race that you would never harm us!"

"And I didn't harm this fairy," he said, stalking towards me. He circled around me like a vulture wondering if what he was looking at was worth it. "She simply got…_caught _in one of my nets."

"And you didn't think to let her go?" I asked, about to cry. Here I was, supposedly the queen of fairies, and he was saying that the smaller fairy in the jar of formaldehyde was the princess, ergo my daughter, and he was expecting me to be calm about this?!?

"I am terribly sorry, _Your Highness_, but I didn't know. I thought it was a mere butterfly with the colorful wings I was looking for," he joked. He was acting so cruelly, I saw no trace of the kind man that had met my friends and me at the drawbridge earlier this afternoon.

"_She_," I whispered. "That fairy is—was a female. My daughter, to be exact, you ghastly fiend."

"Oh, don't be so melodramatic," he said with a wave of his hand. The long black sleeves made him look like a wraith, and I was starting to get a little scared. "As I said, she got caught in one of my nets. Anyways, don't you have more at home?"

"Oh, you terrible human!" I shouted, ready to fling myself at him and pummel him to death. And I'm not usually one for violence. I was the calm one of our little group! "I knew we should have never trusted you to keep your word!"

"_Never_ call me human," he snarled, pressing his face to mine so that we were nearly nose to nose. His cold, black, soulless eyes—despite the fact that I knew he was wearing colored contact lenses—bored into mine and I was truly frightened of him. I leaned back, but he didn't stop leaning towards me until I was bent at the waist with only his arm gripping my waist a little too tightly to hold me up. I looked away. I couldn't stand to look at the soulless black of his eyes when I knew they were a beautiful pale blue underneath the contact lenses. "Never, _ever_ affiliate me with that inferior, pathetic excuse for a race. I am more than them. I control the elements whereas they can't even control themselves." He grabbed my chin and all but made me look at him. "Look at me, _Your Highness_. Do I _look_ human?"

I had to admit that with those damn contact lenses, he did look other-worldly. And seriously scary. If he and his brothers did Halloween here, I'd bet it would be really terrifying. Nonetheless, I faced him like I wasn't afraid of him, but instead of hesitating a little bit like I'd intended, he just stood more firmly. When he lifted his free hand to caress my cheek mockingly, I closed my eyes.

"Scream."

"What?" I asked, not sure I'd heard him correctly.

"Scream," he repeated in that same flat, disturbing tone.

"Why?"

"Scream, and I might consider letting you go."

"You're a monster," I told him once again. That seemed to get on his nerves, for then, he jerked me toward him so that we were flush with each other so that the only thing separating us was our clothes. He raised his hand again—to do what, I didn't want to know—but the sound of clanking metal stopped him. I looked to see Mike standing there with his armor on, but he'd added a pair of what looked to be homemade fairy wings. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.

"Let my queen go!" he proclaimed. Surprisingly enough, Carlisle did let me to, but not before snarling in my ear one last time.

"You owe me a scream, fairy."

I had to repress a shiver as I scrambled to get away from him and into Mike's arms. Although I wasn't sure what I was shivering at; Carlisle's empty threat, or the thought of running to Mike like a scared little girl.

As he led me up to the antechamber, he told me that I was a good actress and that I had him convinced that I really was a fairy queen. When I told him it was probably just the intricate crown, wings, make-up, hair and gown, he said, "Nah, you're really good at this acting stuff, Esme. Did you take theatre in high school?"

I needed to get back to Bella pronto!

**Hey, guys! Happy 2009! I hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve! I know I did! So, this is shorter than the other chapters, and I know that I didn't put in any other POV's, but don't worry. You'll know Carlisle's opinion on this whole scene at the beginning of the next chapter. And I had to tie in Royce King II somehow. But anywhosers....BELLA'S NEXT!!! Review, and I'll try to get her fantasy with the Outlaw Pirate Edward to y'all faster!!**


	12. Trouble in the Women's Locker Room

**No disclaimer.**

**CPOV**

Oh, wow.

I stayed in the room for about 5 minutes after Esme left with Mike. Holy mackerel. When I saw her in that outfit, I thought she was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. She fit the part of the fairy queen well. I just hope I didn't scare her too badly.…

When I walked into the workers' men's changing room, my little brothers all looked at me first with expectance, then with concern.

"Carlisle?" Edward asked. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, not looking at my brothers.

"You scared her to death, didn't you?" Emmett asked.

"Well, I'm sure I scared her, but not to death," I told them, taking off the dark robe. Underneath was a black silk T-shirt and a pair of black jeans. "I hope she talks to me after tonight. I pulled the 'Fairy Princess' stunt tonight, and she seemed to get defensive."

"Oh, that's not good," Jasper said. When I was about to reply to that, Tavi poked her head in.

"My turn, Tavi?" Edward asked.

"Yes, sir."

**BPOV**

_Oh, God, was I really going to do this?_ I thought. Was I really going to play the stubborn stow-away on a pirate ship? I'll admit, the dress was gorgeous, and the hair and make-up people were phenomenal, but I was having some doubts. When Esme came into the room from her fantasy, she looked a little troubled.

"Esme, what's wrong?" I asked. She looked up at the sound of my voice and started to change back into her clothes.

"Oh, nothing, Bella," she said. I just looked at her.

"Are you sure? You seem a little—flustered."

"Oh, I'm fine," she told me. "Just the fantasy. It seemed so real. These guys are really good at their jobs. They should be hired on as professional actors."

"Well, you never know," I said sarcastically. I looked around nervously. There were other women in the room now, picking out what they wanted to do. A pretty woman with long blonde who looked familiar to me come in, went straight to a rack and picked out the pirate outfit that I'd seen earlier.

The same one that Alice and Rosalie had wanted me to wear.

"Tavi!" she yelled, causing the rest of us to jump. Tavi came in, saw who wanted her attention, and groaned almost inaudibly.

"Yes, Lauren?" she asked.

"That's _Miss Mallory_ to you, Tavi. Only Edward calls me by my first name, and you know it," the woman said. "And someone's touched my outfit!"

"I'm sorry, Ms. Mallory, but the other guests here—"

"Tavi, I don't want to hear it!" Lauren said. Now I knew why she looked so familiar. Lauren Mallory was the most popular girl at the college we went to, leader of her sorority sisters, head cheerleader, and all around bitch. "I have told you repeatedly that this outfit is never to be touched! And that if it was, I would file a personal complaint to Edward."

"Ms. Mallory," Tavi said. "I can't control what the other guests wish to wear."

I didn't wish to hear anymore arguing, so I went up to Tavi.

"Um, excuse me, Tavi?" I asked tentatively. "Um, I'm ready."

"Who are you?" Lauren asked. "And what do you mean, you're ready? I am always first for these fantasies, and that's a rule that everyone working here should know."

"Ms. Mallory, please," Tavi said. "She is another guest here. In fact, she is our winner—"

"So she's the one who took it from me!" Lauren cried turning towards me, walking in my direction and pointing an accusing finger at me. "Well I'll have you know that—"

"Listen, bitch," I heard Rosalie's voice say from the doorway. I turned around and saw that it was indeed her and Alice, both changed into their clothes and looking like they'd had a drink or 2 before coming back down to the changing area.

"Rosalie, what are you doing?" Esme whispered, walking up to the girls.

"Trying to stand up for my best friend," Rosalie whispered back. "Listen, bitch, if you think you have a claim to the guys, think again."

"And who are you to tell me what to do, Rosey?" Lauren asked sweetly. Rosalie was supposed to be in the sorority house with Lauren and her gang, but she left when she realized what it meant to be one of the ΨΣΦ (psi sigma phi) sorority sisters. A total bitch to everyone who didn't fit in with your clique. Even though Rosalie might seem like another preppy girl at first, she would mention her love of mechanics, and your entire perspective of her would change drastically.

"Rose, it's okay," I whispered as Lauren walked away and started yelling out orders to anyone who would listen. I really didn't want to start a fight in the girls' locker room like a couple of junior high schoolers.

"Bella, come on," Rosalie said, turning to me and giving my shoulders a little shake when I wouldn't look at her. "Oh, Bella! Will you ever learn? Bitches like Lauren Mallory are just stupid girls who are so pissed with their own lives that they have to make everyone else's a living hell in order to be satisfied with their own!"

"Rose is right, Bella," Alice said coming up behind her. "You can't let Lauren put you down like that and make you feel inferior to her." Alice hugged me, then Rosalie and Esme put their arms around us.

"Uh, Bella?" Tavi asked. "It's your turn."

"Oh, right." I turned to the girls, gave them my best sexy look and said. "Well, here goes nothing!" They just laughed.

**Okay, about this chapter. This idea just popped into my head and I loved it! I just had to introduce Lauren somehow. I was going to make it Jessica, but I've got plans for her. I'm writing Bella's fantasy even as I type this, and I'm sorry to disappoint if you thought this was Bella's turn. Sorry! Look for Bella's Outlaw Pirate fantasy sometime tomorrow!**


	13. Edward the Outlaw Pirate

**No disclaimer.**

**EPOV**

_What is taking her so long?_ I wondered as I waited for her in full pirate dress. My costume might seem like it was a little uncomfortable at first, but it was quite the opposite. I could move around in my clothes despite the fact that my pants were almost skin-tight. But my shirt was very loose so there were no restraints for my upper torso. I put my hand on the handle of my saber to move it out of the way of some of the props for the fake ship deck when I heard a commotion coming from the changing room. I leaned closer and heard Lauren causing trouble and barking orders to my workers. _Oh, no_, I thought. _Why can't she give me a night of peace?_ I moved away from the door to stand in front of the wall, thinking of how I was going to deal with Lauren. Knowing her, she'd want that damn domineering female captain role she was so fond of. I heard the door open and I looked to see Bella walking out of the room, looking like the stow-away she was supposed to be. She even closed the door the right way, her back to me and making sure she didn't make any noise.

The suede of her dress flowed with her body, and hid nothing and everything from me. I could the outline of her derriere, but I couldn't tell where her legs started. _Edward, don't think like that,_ a voice in my head said. _What would Mother say?_

I stopped admiring Bella's body at that thought and got into character instantly.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" I said with a slightly dangerous tone and an English accent of the Elizabethan Era's elite few. She whipped her head around and a light blush stained the apples of her cheeks. It was quite adorable on her.

She stuck her chin out in an obstinate manner and said, in an English accent as well, "I'm sorry, sir, I thought I was in the first class section of the ship. Apparently I was wrong."

I cracked a small smile. She was witty, I'd give her that. "I see. Would you mind telling me why it is you stowed away on my ship?"

She seemed to ponder my question for the longest time. When she finally replied, it wasn't even convincing. In fact, it sounded like a question to herself. "I'm running away from an abusive father?"

I shook my head slowly and walked towards her. "Madam, if you had an abusive father, you would have a mark or 2 to show for it. As it now stands, I see no mark on your skin. Either it's an invisible mark, or you have covered it up to protect your father."

Her blush took on a deeper shade of red. "Um…I—"

"You know what? Never mind," I said. "I really don't need to hear pathetic excuses from lying chits. Just assure me that no one else is on this ship with you prepared to try to kill me. That would put a bit of a damper on my day."

"No one else is on with me," she said. "I am alone."

"Such a shame, really." I moved closer to her and touched her hair. It was soft as I ran my fingers through it. I moved my mouth closer to her neck for more effect. She twisted away from me, nearly tripping over her dress in the process.

"What, exactly, is a shame?" she asked, trying to straighten out her dress and act like she hadn't almost landed face-first on the ground.

"That you are alone," I told her, starting to zero in on her again. "Such a beautiful woman, I would expect you to be married by now, maybe to a lord or perhaps an earl, and possible have 1 or 2 children." Even as I said that, the thought of her being married to another man and having his children sent a jolt of something to my heart that was as foreign as the feeling of jealousy that shot through me at the same time. Strange.

"You are mistaken, sir," she replied. "I have no interest in getting married, and all my suitors are of no interest to me. They are merely after my dowry."

"Dowry?" I acted like that interested me like it would interest any pirate.

"It is nothing much," she said. "Just a mere thousand-pound allowance and a bit of land."

I let my eyes glitter with greed for a moment, and she stepped back. "Just who are you, exactly?" I asked. With what she was telling me, I'd assume her character was very wealthy, had a lot of land, and was probably stuck-up as can be.

"Um," she started. I moved closer to her, trying to scare her, and she looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "I—I really d-don't f-feel like I sh-should tell y-you," she stuttered.

"Why?" I asked. "What's wrong with me?" I invaded her space and leaned closer to her. I could tell from her hyperventilating that she was terrified. I started to feel bad about scaring her, but I needed to focus on my job right now!

**BPOV**

Oh, my God.

I could now see what the other three were talking about. On the one hand, Edward was incredibly sexy in his tight-fitting pirate costume. But he was scaring me half to death! When he invaded my personal bubble, I started freaking out a little. I suffered from a slight case of claustrophobia, and whenever my space was invaded, I would start hyperventilating and trying to find a way to escape. Of course, Edward had backed me up against the wall, so there was no room for escape.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" I asked, utterly petrified.

He chuckled. "You stow away on _my_ ship and ask me who _I_ am and what _I_ want? You really are a piece of work, madam," he said. "But, since you so want to know, most people just call me the Outlaw Pirate. They do not even bother with my real name. It is a shame, really, for my father would be proud of me if he only knew who I was."

I looked at him, horrified like the nervous ninny I was pretending to be. When he started speaking again, it was right in my ear, a mere whisper. "I see you have heard of my reputation. Is that why you chose my ship out of the many others that were docked? Do you have a secret taste for danger?" He nipped my ear lobe, sending shivers down my spine. I tried to twist away, but he held me too tightly. I tried to push him away, but he just pulled me closer as if I weighed nothing at all. I briefly cried for help, only to remember that I'd told him that I was alone. However, I saw Mike, of all people, coming through another door.

"Miss Swan, I—" He stopped when he saw Edward holding me the way he was. Edward looked at me and snarled, "I thought you said you were alone!"

"Why would she be alone, sir?" Mike asked, pulling a real-looking sword out from its sheath on his hip. Edward let me go, and I stumbled my way to Mike, trying not to gag at how he looked. Even though he wasn't exactly wearing armor, he still looked ridiculous in the 16th century clothing that he'd changed into. His waistcoat was a periwinkle blue, and looked absolutely hideous on him. The matching trousers were a little too tight, and showed off a little too much for my tastes. His cravat was slightly askew, as if he'd rushed to get it on. Edward was not wearing a waistcoat, and his shirt and cravat were loosened, so I could tell he was probably comfortable. Mike, on the other hand, looked like he'd rather be wearing anything _but_ his costume.

"Come, Miss Swan," he said. "Let us get you away from this scum and onto another ship." He led me out the door, up the stairs, and to a large antechamber. Mike let go of me and said, "You know, that dress looks pretty good on you."

"Oh, thanks," I replied, a blush starting up. _Great_, I thought.

"You're welcome," he said. "So, how will you thank your rescuer?"

"Excuse me?" I asked, turning to him and my temper flaring a little.

"Oh, you know, maybe a hug and a thank you would suffice?"

"Oh, Mike, I'm sorry, but I just don't feel like it," I told him, my tone a little more harsh than I intended it to be.

"Oh," he said. "Well, okay. Will you at least let me walk you to the changing room?"

"Uh, shouldn't you be getting ready for the next fantasy?"

"Oh yeah," he said. "Okay, well I'll see you around, Bella."

"Okay, bye, Mike," I said before running to the door, miraculously not tripping.

**MPOV**

Awe, man.

I can't believe I didn't get even a good-bye hug. Normally this wouldn't bother me, but after seeing Edward Cullen wrapped around her like he was, I just couldn't seem to stop wanting to claim her for myself.

Well, the last thing Bella Swan needs is a guy who makes his living off of scaring women. She'd eventually see that she'd love a knight in shining armor to sweep her off her feet.

And I intended to be that knight, whether Edward or Jacob liked it or not. After all, I had 3 weeks. 3 weeks to make Bella mine.

**Hey, guys. Sorry I didn't get this to you when I said I would! Yesterday was so hectic; I wasn't able to get on the computer! I'm really sorry. As a little treat for y'all, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret about the next chapter: Jacob is going to give the guys the whole break-her-heart-I'll-break-your-neck threat! It's gonna be sweet and a hell of a lot of fun to write!**


	14. Of Witches and Threats

**No disclaimer.**

**BPOV**

I got to the changing room, and Alice, Rosalie and Esme were waiting for me. As soon as I walked in, all 3 of them ran up to me, demanding how it went. I was still surprised that Rosalie was down here—what with her being freaked out when her fantasy was over—so I asked her how she was doing.

"Don't avoid the subject, Bella," Rosalie said. "Tell us what happened!"

"Well," I started. "It was…different."

"Oh, be fair, Bella!" Alice said. "Come on! Give us details!"

"Um, maybe we should continue this in our room," I said, starting to change back into my clothes. "No offense to anyone else here, but I really don't want to discuss it with so many strangers. Not to mention Queen Bitch Lauren Mallory."

"Ooh, mind your language, Bella," Rosalie said. "I think you just swore!"

"I did just swear, Rosalie," I mumbled. "It's not something to call the media about."

"Well, when you swear, Bella, it is," Alice replied. "And stop getting off subject!"

"Alice, please," Esme said. "If Bella wants to continue this in our room, then let her."

"Thank you, Esme," I said. As soon as I was done getting dressed, we headed to our rooms to get ready for bed. We would all meet in my room in about 20 minutes. As I was changing into my pajamas and brushing my teeth, I couldn't help wondering what Edward would think of me if I did decide to wear that outfit that Lauren claimed as hers.

The sexy one.

Rosalie was the first one to come to my room, followed closely by Alice, and Esme was the last. We all sat on my bed in a bit of a circle with me at the headboard, Alice on my right, Rosalie on my left, and Esme across from me.

"So, what happened?" Alice asked, barely stopping herself from bouncing off the bed, she was so excited and anxious to hear details.

"Well…he was dressed as a pirate, and he scared me," I said.

"Bella," Rosalie said. "We want details. Come on, just tell us!"

"Oh, all right," I said. "I played a rich stow away who'd gotten caught by the captain sneaking out of her hiding place, and he was the greedy Outlaw Pirate that everyone knew about.…"

**LPOV**

Hm.

Something's different about Edward tonight. He doesn't seem as into it as he normally is.

I changed out of my costume and went to go check in to my normal room: The Tower Suites. When I arrived at the check-in desk, I held out my hand for the key-card to my room. But instead of The Tower Suites like usual, I had a room called The Astronomy Room.

"Uh, where is my usual room key?" I asked the check-in clerk.

"Um…well, you see, Ms. Mallory, it's…um—"

"Just spit it out!" I shouted, aggravated by her inability to speak.

"It's been taken," she mumbled.

I just stared at her. "Come again?" I said, unable to believe that Edward and his brothers would let someone else use my rooms.

"Someone has already booked it," she said a little louder. "Next!"

"No, you listen to me, bitch," I said, putting my hands on the counter to keep my balance. "No one but me ever uses those rooms. Those rooms were designed for my use and my use only!"

"No, Ms. Mallory, they were designed for anyone to use. Next!"

"You selfish, insufferable, lying bitch!" I stalked off to go find Edward and his brothers. I arrived at the men's locker room, opened the door and all but slammed myself into Edward.

"Lauren! What are you doing in here?" he asked.

"Edward, someone has booked my rooms!" I complained.

"Lauren, please," he started. "We needed those rooms for our giveaway winner and their friends, and—"

"Oh, those little bitches!" I cried. "First they practically cut in line for the fantasies, and now they steal my rooms from me! Ugh!"

"Lauren, please do not refer to my other guests as bitches," Edward said, his expression hardening a little bit.

**EPOV**

Okay, this has gone far enough. Lauren has always been a spoiled brat, but calling Bella a bitch is taking it way too far. I snapped.

"Edward! I've just told you what they've done, and—"

I cut her off. "Lauren! Do you even hear yourself? You sound like a spoiled child whose parents have just told them they need to give up their favorite toy. Now please, go to your _assigned room_, leave Bella and her friends alone, and _leave me the hell alone_ for one night,_ please_!" I told her. It was the first time I'd ever mouthed off to a guest, and it shook me a little bit. She looked at me as if I'd just grown 3 heads, 4 noses and 9 eyes.

"Fine," she snarled when she finally regained her composure. "If that's how you treat well-paying guests here, then consider me no longer your customer." She stalked off toward the door—managing to break a heel in the process—walked out of it with what little dignity she felt she had left, and slammed it in her wake. Truthfully, I was glad she was no longer a customer here. I was getting tired of her pettiness towards all the other female guests and her slutty behavior in front of the men who attended here once in a while. And her weekly visits were starting to get on my nerves, especially when she would act possessive of me like we'd been going out for ages when I'd really only taken her on 1 date in our sophomore year of high school.

I went to sit on a bench when Jacob came from around the corner.

"Damn, Edward, what happened? Yeah, Lauren's annoying, but I never thought I'd see the day when you would mouth off to a customer, let alone a _female_ customer!" he said, laughing a little bit on the end.

"Yeah, well, first time for everything," I mumbled.

"So, what did she say to make you snap?" he asked.

"She called the girls bitches," I said. He absorbed that for a moment, then his features turned hard.

"She did what?" he asked flatly.

"Jacob, don't worry about it," I told him, getting up and walking toward where my brothers were. None of us were needed for the fantasies right now—the current customer being male—and my brothers and I were relaxing for a few minutes. Jacob followed me until I was surrounded by my brothers.

"Shit, Edward," Emmett said, giving me a colossal bear hug. "I didn't know you had it in you!"

"Had what in me, Emmett?" I asked.

"I didn't know you would actually tell off Lauren like that!" he clarified. "Damn, I think you just broke a couple of your rules for yourself!"

"Emmett, she called the girls bitches, and it caused me to snap," I told him. My brothers all looked at me and said at the same time the same thing Jacob had asked me when I told him. Jacob then spoke up.

"Guys," he started. My brothers and I looked at him. "I understand your guys' antagonism towards Lauren, but—"

"No, Jacob, I don't think you do," Emmett started. We all looked at him like he'd grown a 2nd head. "I don't want her to simply leave the girls alone. I want to hurt her."

"Emmett, don't," Carlisle said. "You can't just go around hurting people because they insulted a girl you have a crush on."

"Carlisle, don't pretend you're not as pissed off as I am," Emmett replied.

"Emmett, I am upset that Lauren would refer to Esme as a bitch, but, as much as I would like to hurt someone, I am trying to keep control of my temper," Carlisle said.

"Emmett, your anger towards Lauren will only get you into trouble," Jasper said. His voice barely contained his fury.

I looked at Jacob to see what he thought of this exchange; my brothers and I pissed at Lauren for calling 4 girls he considered his sisters bitches. Then he surprised me.

"Guys, let me get something straight," he started. "You all have crushes on them?"

"Yep," Jasper said. "Emmett on Rosalie, Carlisle on Esme, Edward on Bella, and me on Alice."

"Well, at least you're honest," Jacob mumbled. "I trust you guys to take care of them, but if you ever, _ever_ hurt them, I will hunt you all down, and kill you with my bare hands."

We all stared at him. Then Carlisle spoke up.

"Well, then be rest-assured that we have no intention to hurt them, Jacob."

"Thank you, Carlisle," Jacob said. "But unfortunately, I don't put that much trust in other guys' promises considering the girls. They've all had really bad hardships in the past—especially Rosalie and Alice—and I really don't want to see them get hurt again."

"Jacob, we understand," Jasper said, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You're the big brother they never had, and they're your little sisters, in a way. We understand your instinct to protect them. Keep in mind, the 4 of us are brothers, and we would do anything for each other."

"Jasper, I know, but…I just want them to be happy," Jacob said. "They deserve it."

**I was right. That _was_ fun to write! Lauren is such a bitch. I hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! I told y'all Jacob was gonna go protective on the Cullen boys!**


	15. Sweet Temptations

**No disclaimer.**

**AN: Last minute editting stuff. Sorry!**

**BPOV**

The next day, we decided to go exploring around the park. There was a little shop about a block away from the castle, and we decided to go check it out. We entered through the double doors to see a girl who was probably about our age behind the counter. Her back was to us, so I couldn't be sure if she was attending our college or not. The store had a dark red shag carpet that was considerably comfortable beneath our feet.

"Excuse me?" Alice said, trying to get the girl's attention. The girl turned around and I could see that she did go to our school, but I didn't know her. Meaning she was probably on the cheerleading squad with Lauren Mallory and her gang, and a ΨΣΦ as well.

"Rosalie?" she asked. We turned to Rose, and she just nodded. "Oh, my gosh, I can't believe you're here!"

"Hello, Jessica," Rose said. "And I'm here with Bella."

"That's right, she won the giveaway," the girl named Jessica said. Now I knew why she looked familiar. Jessica Stanley was Lauren Mallory's "best friend". In other words, was her shadow and obedient follower. "Well, welcome to Sweet Temptation," she said, holding her hands out like that guy from Ironman when he presented his new missile in the beginning of the movie. Tony…something.

"Thank you," Esme said. "What exactly is this place?" she asked.

"Sweet Temptation is a candy store, silly!" Jessica said. "If you would turn around, you will see all types of different candies, and I keep my personal favorites up here with me at the counter. Some of my favorites are cherry-flavored Blow Pops, chocolate-covered strawberries, and empty chocolate shells."

"And why, exactly, are they your favorites?" Rosalie asked pointedly.

"Um…" she said, starting to turn a little pink. "I've had some good times with those candies."

"Oh, God," Rosalie said, turning away to browse through the store.

_I don't want to know_, I thought.

"Well, you asked, Rosalie," Jessica said shrugging.

Rosalie didn't acknowledge the statement, just continued looking at all the different kinds of candy the store carried. I joined her, and saw they carried something I never saw anywhere else but that I loved to a fault.…

"You carry Zots?" I asked, not believing my eyes.

"You better believe it!" Jessica said. "I carry anything that qualifies as candy, even if you can't buy it in the stores!"

"How?" I asked.

"I have my ways!" she said a little too excitedly.

Alice looked around and cried, "Non-Pareils?!?"

"Yep!" Jessica said. "As far as candy goes, I am now your new best friend."

"Cool," Alice said. "Because I have a feeling I'm gonna visit this store often during the 3 weeks we're here!" **(AN: I have no idea what these candies are; I just asked my parents what kind of candy they missed from their childhoods!)**

**EPOV**

_I wonder where the girls are_, I thought. My brothers and I hadn't seen them all morning, and I wanted to talk to Bella specifically. We wanted to be sure that we hadn't scared them too badly last night, and the only way to make sure of that was to talk to them. _I hope their not avoiding us.…_

"Hey, Jacob," I said, trying to get his attention.

"Yes, Edward?" he asked. He was the only one of our employees who did what we'd asked and called us by our first names. Everyone else was either too polite to do so, or too worried about what would happen if they _did_ call us by our first names.

"Do you know where the girls are?" I asked, weary that he would and could make good on his threat if he felt like I was being too forward with my inquiry.

"They went to go explore around the park," he answered. "Why?" He suddenly looked at me, acting like the big brother figure he was to the girls.

"Well, my brothers and I just wanted to make sure we didn't scare them too badly last night," I explained to him, a little irked that I had to answer to someone about a girl I had a crush on. I was used to answering to a girl's father, but that was a given situation when you start looking for a girl to spend the rest of your life with. But answering to a girl's _brother_…this was new. Especially since Jacob wasn't even their blood-brother.

"Well, knowing those 4 as I do," he started. "I think the only one you'll have to worry about is Rosalie. She's…really not equipped to enjoying a park like this."

"Why?" Emmett asked, coming out from behind me. Carlisle and Jasper were right behind him.

"You'd have to ask her," Jacob said.

"Don't you know?" Jasper asked. That's what I wanted to know. If these girls were so close to him, wouldn't they share something big like he was hinting at with him?

"Yes, I know," Jacob snapped. "It's just not my story to tell. If you want to know what happened, you'll have to ask Rosalie." He walked away to continue whatever he'd been doing before I started talking to him.

"Well," Carlisle started. "That went well."

"Shut up, Carlisle," Emmett said. "What would you guys say about splitting up and looking for them?"

**APOV**

_I hope Rosalie's alright_, I thought. I was really worried about her. Last night she'd seemed so terrified when she got back from her fantasy with Emmett, and she'd mentioned her ex-fiancée Royce—or "Royce the Ass" as we referred to him as.

"Hey, I'm gonna go and see if there are any shopping areas around," I said as we exited out of Sweet Temptation. I knew Bella wouldn't want to come with me and that Rose might want to, so I said, "Anyone's wiling to join me."

"I think I'll come with you," Rosalie said.

"I'm going to see what kind of books they carry at the book store I saw earlier," Bella said. "Esme, would you like to join me?"

"Thank you, Bella, but I think I will go join Alice and Rose," Esme said. The 3 of us walked toward the opposite end of the street, and Bella went all by herself to the book store. That girl and her books…

"Alice?" I heard a voice behind us say. I looked and saw none other than Jasper and his brothers walking towards us.

"Hey, Jasper," I said, turning around and meeting him half-way between our 2 parties. "What brings you 4 out from behind the palace walls?" I asked sarcastically.

"Haha, very funny, Alice," Jasper said. "We were actually looking for you 4."

"Really?" Rosalie asked.

"Yeah, we wanted to talk to you," Carlisle asked.

"Where's Bella?" Edward asked.

"She went to a bookstore we saw earlier," Esme said.

"She's alone?" Edward asked, seeming alarmed that we would allow her to wander off on her own.

"She's a big girl, Edward," Emmett said. "I'm pretty sure she can take care of herself."

**BPOV**

_Why didn't I stay with the girls?_ I asked myself. _I could've saved myself all this trouble if I'd just stayed with them instead of wandering off on my own._

"Come on, baby!" one of the guys said.

"Don't call me that," I whispered, trying to reach for my purse to grab the pepper spray my father had given me before…I couldn't even think about it. That was when I realized it was in my other bag.

In my dorm room.

"Nah, she don't like that, man," another one said. There were 4 of them closing in on me, and I didn't know if they worked here or not. And the fact that Rosalie had practically jumped me this morning to "fix my look" didn't help either. I probably looked like a sex kitten instead of the sexy-woman look Rosalie was going for.

"Stay away from me," I tried to threaten. Unfortunately, there was absolutely no power or confidence behind my voice, so it came out as barely a whisper.

"Don't be like that, sugar," the apparent leader of the group said. He reached for me, and I tried to twist away, but he managed to grab a handful of my ridiculously long hair. Then again, it was my fault for never wanting to cut it.

I cried out in pain, and just when it died, I heard a voice yell, "What the hell do you think you're doing?!?"

I was let go of so suddenly, I dropped to the ground. I could hear the 4 guys trying to scramble away, but their feet suddenly disappeared from my vision. I was pulled up by unseen hands, and the same voice that had yelled at the men asked, "Are you all right?"

"Yes," I said, turning toward the voice. Imagine my embarrassment when Edward Cullen—of all people—is the one supporting me. I tried to subtly push myself away, but his arms were too tight around me. I looked around, wondering where the guys who'd assaulted me were, only to see that Emmett and Jasper were each crushing 2 guys with their elbows. "How did you guys find me?" I asked.

"Easy," Edward said. "Esme mentioned that you wanted to go to a bookstore, and there's only 1 bookstore on park property.

**JPOV**

It really is sad how much scum is on the earth. If these 4 guys Emmett and I were practically holding hostage were any indication, there was a problem with the world.

"What do you guys want with her?" Emmett asked.

"It's nothing personal," 1 of them said. "We were paid—"

"By who?" I asked. I was kinda pissed. Even though I had a crush on Alice, Bella was practically her sister. If I did end up going out with Alice—please God!—then I needed to be in Bella's good graces as well. Not that I didn't like Bella, I just liked Alice more.

"I don't know," the guy said.

"Well, what did they look like?" Emmett said.

"Female. Gorgeous blond," he said.

"Carlisle," I cried. "Call the police!" Carlisle pulled out his phone, dialed 911, and almost instantly, a police cruiser showed up. That wasn't a surprise. We usually had a police officer patrolling the perimeter of the park in case we needed an officer on scene. Unfortunately we had some guys whose jealousy got the better of them when their wives/girlfriends/fiancés came back from an encounter with my brothers or I completely flustered and—disturbingly—even a tad bit aroused.

It was kinda sickening and sad at the same time that the women who often visited our park were sometimes trying to get away from the men in their lives.

The police officer got out of the cruiser, and Carlisle went to meet her. She talked with Carlisle for a moment, then headed toward where Emmett and I were holding these guys. Throughout the entire ordeal, the girls were huddled together; probably trying to console Bella. She must be more than a little traumatized.

**RPOV**

Oh, poor Bella! I'm just thankful that she had not 1, but _4_ someone's who came to her rescue, unlike me who had no one when my ex-fiancée Royce…I couldn't think about it.

"Bella, are you okay?" I asked her while the police officer talked with Jasper, Emmett and the 4 guys who'd attacked her.

"I'm fine, Rosalie," she said. "I'm just a little surprised. Then again, your clothes and make-up job on me probably brought this on. I look like a whore, Rosalie! How could you?"

"No, Bella, you don't look like a whore," Esme said. "You look really beautiful, but these guys…they're just perverts who don't know how to treat a woman."

It wasn't until Alice returned from her hiding spot behind the police officer that we actually noticed she had gone. "Guys, those guys were _paid_ to harass Bella!"

"What?" Esme and I asked at the same time. "By who?"

"Apparently this—and I quote—'gorgeous blond with a body made for a man's touch'," Alice said. "Sounds like that girl who was pissed at us last night for not only touching 'her outfit', but also for starting the fantasies without her and also for Bella picking to do her fantasy with Edward."

Bitch.

**4 pages, guys! **_**4 pages!!**_** If that's not amazing, I don't know what is. I think this is my longest chapter yet! I just had to include the incident in Port Angeles, so I thought that this was the ideal way to do it. In the book, she was coming back from a bookstore, so here, he was **_**looking**_** for a bookstore. So, what'd you guys think? Was the way I included the Port Angeles incident good, or not? Please tell me in a review! I will love you forever.**


	16. After Her!

**No disclaimer**

**EmPOV**

"Talk," Tanya said. She was one of our favorite officers, and she didn't take shit from anybody. However, I did wonder about what the guys Jasper and I had hostage would say to her…

"For a pretty girl like you?" the obvious leader asked. "Always. As long as you give Daddy a little some-some in return." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Talk to me like that again," she said, "and I will have you on not 1, but _2_ accounts of sexual harassment as well as assault."

"Aw, come on, now," another guy said. "We didn't hurt her, and we were just messin' with ya!"

"Yeah," the leader said, clearly trying to charm his way out of their situation. Tanya, however, was not fooled.

"Who paid you to harass that girl?" she asked.

"Like I said before," the leader said. "A drop-dead-gorgeous blond with a body made—"

"We heard the description earlier," she said.

"Ooh, do hear a little jealousy in that tone?" he asked. Edward looked like he was about ready to punch the guy in the face—give him a little taste of what the Cullen brothers are famous for—well, me anyway.

"Just tell me again—without your disgusting innuendos—what the woman looked like," she said, more than a little exasperated. She was used to dirt like this, and she'd learned when to act the tough bitch. With her strawberry-blond hair, when she acted like a bitch, she looked the part. And her ice-blue eyes only helped with that appearance.

"Dude, just stop," the guy in my left death-grip said. He's remained silent throughout this entire ordeal. "She had long blonde hair, hazel eyes, tall, maybe 5'8", really bossy, and had on these really strappy shoes, a denim mini skirt, and a tight red crop-top with long sleeves."

While Tanya was writing that all down, the other guys looked at him and started saying how gay he sounded for paying attention to what she was wearing and how he knew what each item of clothing was called. Personally, I thought that was a little gay too, but I secretly _did_ know what each item of clothing was that he'd described. And I knew why the outfit sounded familiar…

"Did she have a small freckle below her right eye, and another one just above the waistband of her skirt?" I asked, turning to the guy who'd given Tanya his description at the end.

"Y-yes," he stammered. "Do you know her?"

"As a matter of fact…" I trailed off. I knew who it was. "Tanya."

**TPOV**

That little bitch! She was always causing trouble.

As I was on my way to the station with the guys she paid off in the back, I took hold of the radio in my cruiser and said into it, "Chief! I've got one for you."

"Go ahead, Tanya," the chief said.

"Lauren Mallory," I said, telling him the name that always left a bad taste in my mouth. She'd been trying to claim Edward ever since he started working here last year when he was 18, and she'd acted like _she_ owned the park instead of the guys. I was getting a little jealous, yes, but I thought Edward was cute, despite the fact he was 4 years younger than me. _Pedophile_, I thought to myself. "Long blond hair, hazel eyes, 5'8", freckle below her right eye and another above the waistband of her skirt," I said, repeating the information from both men. "She's also wearing strappy shoes, a denim mini skirt, and a tight red crop-top."

"Thank you, Tanya," Chief said. No one knew his real name. Everyone just called him Chief.

"Welcome, Chief," I said. "The guys I'm bringing in told me they last saw her heading north, probably toward the city. One of the owners told me that she has an upscale apartment in the city."

"Okay, Tanya," Chief said. "I'll send someone to the apartment, while you go ahead back to your post at the park after you bring the guys in."

"Rodger that, Chief," I said. I continued driving towards the station with the 4 guys still trying to get my attention and charm their way out of their situation. It wasn't the first time criminals had tried to do this, and it got on my nerves. Anymore of their innuendos and I would blow up on them.

"C'mon, baby, don't be like that," one of them said. I couldn't really tell the difference between them, and, frankly, I didn't give a damn about any of them. They were the scum of the earth that caused women to be afraid to go out of their homes at night. And it was my job to put them all away. I punched the mesh that separated the front of the car from the back.

"Shut the hell up, or I will pull my gun on your asses!" I normally didn't lose my temper, but these guys were seriously getting on my nerves.

"Ooh, I like 'em fiery," another one said.

"Okay, that's now—" I counted on my fingers. "16 accounts of sexual harassment and…4 accounts of assault. Do you guys wanna add any more to that while you're here?"

"How about being too sexy for the law?" They all snickered. I turned up the radio so that I couldn't hear them. It was going to be a long drive back to the station.

**EPOV**

As Tanya left with the guys who'd attacked Bella in tow, I went to her side to see how she was doing. She seemed to be trying to tell the other 3 that she was alright, but none of them believed her. Frankly, I didn't believe her, either. When I wasn't working at the park, I was a student at the nearby medical school. So was Carlisle, although at 23 he was going to graduate next year. He'd already gotten some impressive hospitals asking for his expertise, but he wanted to work close to home until he got settled with a family. As much as I admired him for that, I was ready to go onto bigger and better things. Yes, I wanted a family, but not yet. I was only 19, for crying out loud!

"Bella?" I asked. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, Edward," she said. "I'm fine. A little surprised, but I'm otherwise okay."

"Just making sure, Bella," I said. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, and she leaned into me. "Do you want to go back to the castle, or stay here a little longer? My brothers and I would like to take you girls out for a little while, maybe talk about last night?"

"We were going to go back to the castle," Rosalie said. "But I see no harm in going out for a little bit."

**One of the more shorter chapters I've written, but I had to put it in. Plus, I don't want to give away the guys' date with the girls too quickly! The more reviews I get, the faster the next chapter will be posted. So keep those reviews coming, please!**


	17. Of Cars and Outings

**No disclaimer, but a quick author's note: School started back up again on Tuesday, so I don't have as much time as I did to update my stories. I'll try as hard as I can to get as much as I can up, but I do have homework to do just about every day. Not to mention Driver's Ed.**

**RPOV**

"We were going to go back to the castle," I said. "But I see no harm in going out for a little bit." I didn't mention that I really _wanted_ to go somewhere with Emmett, but I was more than a little nervous. I still didn't trust guys completely after the issue with Royce, but I was beginning to trust again, mostly thanks to my best friends. I still hadn't dated since I'd ended things with Royce, but I did make friends with other guys.

"Great," Edward said. He really was a nice guy, but I still didn't fully trust him. He moved his arm from around Bella's shoulders, and just grabbed her hand. Just her hand, but something about the way he didn't go for her waist touched something inside me. He was a gentleman.

Carlisle had offered Esme his arm, and she accepted it. Jasper and Alice were a little more touchy-feely—what with their arms around each other's shoulders. Emmett just offered his hand, like Edward had. I was touched. Normally, guys would automatically go for my waist.

"Shall we?" Emmett asked. I just nodded my head, a little too stunned to answer properly.

The guys escorted us to a garage that was just off the castle, and inside it were some of the most expensive cars I'd ever seen. And as a mechanic in my dad's garage—now _my_ garage—I knew quite a bit about cars.

"Oh, my God," I whispered. "How can you guys _afford_ these things?"

"What, the cars?" Emmett asked. "Easy. Dad makes a fortune off of this park, and because we're now the owners if it, we split it 4 ways. Well, 4 and a ½ if you count the little share Dad gets. Do you know a little something about cars?"

"Do I know a little something about cars, he asks," I said to myself. "Yes, I do. That black one is a Mercedes S55 AMG, the silver one is an S60R Volvo, the unmistakable Jeep Wrangler, and…is that the _V12 Aston Martin Vanquish_?" I was in heaven. Not only were there some pretty awesome cars here, they were really fast. Just like Alice and I liked them.

"I must say, I'm impressed," Emmett said. "Not too many girls know even 1/100th as you do."

"Yeah, well, I worked as a mechanic in my father's garage," I told him. "When he died, he left it to me, and it's my pride and joy. Nothing short of it being burned down would part me from it."

"Very impressive," Emmett said. He seemed to really understand that little fact of my life.

"Really?" I asked, still a little skeptical that he really appreciated that. Normally, guys hated it when they found out I knew more about cars than they did. That was usually a turn-off for them. Seriously, what is it with males and their egos?

"Yeah," he replied, squeezing my hand. "I think that a woman who knows her cars is…sexy. I hope you're not offended?"

"No," I said. "It's just that…normally guys…dislike the fact that I know more about their cars than they do." I couldn't believe it. A guy actually not only respected the fact that I know so much about cars, but actually thought it was _sexy_!

"Well, mores the pity on them," Emmett said matter-of-factly. Edward handed a set of keys from his pocket to Jasper, and then Jasper took Alice to the Volvo while Edward and Bella went to the Vanquish. Carlisle led Esme to the Mercedes, and Emmett led me to the Jeep.

"So, does Edward have 2 cars?" I asked, noticing him pulling out the keys to the Vanquish from his other pocket.

"Uh, kind of," Emmett said, opening the passenger's side door for me; the first gentlemanly gesture from any of the males in my life.

"What does that mean?" I asked, getting into the monster of a Jeep.

"Well, the Vanquish is his 'special occasion car'," Emmett said, closing the door after me and going over to the driver's side. "The Volvo is his everyday car, but Jasper doesn't really like driving. He usually takes his Ducati. But since he's now got Alice with him, he needs to get another helmet."

"He has a motorcycle?" I asked. _Alice will love that_, I thought.

"Yeah, an 848, to be exact," he said expectantly, starting up the car. When I didn't say anything, he glanced at me from the corner of his eye. "Do you know anything about motorcycles?"

"Not really," I told him. "Jake's the motorcycle expert. I'm the car person."

"Wait, let me get this straight," he said. "Jacob knows motorcycles?"

"Sure. He works at the garage as my motorcycle mechanic. Since I don't know motorcycles that well, he works on them for me, and gets paid doing something he likes to do."

"Hm. Learn something new every day," he said. He shut up and started driving. He was behind Carlisle and Esme in the Mercedes, with Edward and Bella in the Vanquish behind us, and Jasper and Alice behind them in the Volvo. "You know, I'm actually amazed that Edward let Jasper drive the Volvo," he said after a couple minutes. "That car—after the Vanquish—is practically his baby."

"I know how that feels," I said. "I don't let anyone drive my M3."

"You have an M3?" he asked incredulously, taking his eyes off the road for a minute.

"Yes," I said, turning his head towards the road. "And Alice has a Porsche 911 Turbo, Esme has a Mercedes Guard, and Bella has a crappy, yet durable, 1953 Chevrolet Pickup that she's used since her dad gave it to her when she moved to town. We're trying to convince her to get a Ferrari that we saw, but she won't. She thinks it's too expensive and that we'll go into debt."

"Yeah, with the cars that you, Alice and Esme have, I don't think you'll go into debt," Emmett replied.

"Yeah," I said. "Our parents…" I stopped. I couldn't do this. It wasn't my story to tell.

"What about—" he started, but I cut him off.

"Where are we going?" I asked instead.

**EmPOV**

Hm. Apparently, she didn't want to talk about herself. That was okay with me, but I was now pretty curious. Why didn't she want to talk about their parents?

"We're going to a restaurant that my littlest brother Edward found last month. We really liked it, but it wasn't an ideal place for a guy's-night-out. It was more like a place you would take a respectable girlfriend," I told her. I looked at her, seeing if she was absorbing that comment. What was she thinking?

**RPOV**

Respectable girlfriend?

**Hey, guys. One thing I didn't mention earlier is that my computer's been acting up, and it won't let me view some web pages. I'll see what I can do about that....**


	18. French and Tragedy

**Okay, so I've fixed the problem with my computer, finally. I'll try to update as soon as I can, but for now, enjoy this chapter while you can! I don't know when I'll be on again!**

**BPOV**

"So, where are we going, Edward?" I asked, not really comfortable in this really expensive-looking car of his.

"We, Bella, are going to a restaurant I came across last month," he said. "The guys and I were looking for a place to do a guy's-night-out, but it wasn't that kind of place. I think Eric's taken Angela there a couple times."

"Oh, is it that Japanese place she was telling us about where they cook the food in front of you?" I asked.

"Um, no, I don't think so," he said. "It's actually 1 of the few French restaurants in town, and the waiters actually speak French." He looked at me for a minute, then back to the road. We were on a rarely-travelled road, and I wasn't comfortable with that, either.

"How will we know what they're saying?" I asked. I certainly didn't speak French, although Esme was taking it as a foreign language class.

"Not to worry," he reassured me, taking a hand off the wheel and grasping mine for a second. I felt a little jolt of electricity run through my veins, and I gasped quietly. I wasn't sure if he heard me or not, but if he did he pretended he didn't.

"Why shouldn't I worry?" I asked. If we were going to a place where the employees spoke French, it might constitute a bit of a problem for those of us who didn't speak it. "The only one in our group that can speak French is Esme, and she's not even that fluent yet."

"Because, Bella," Edward said smiling. "My brothers and I can all understand French, and we speak it pretty well."

"Really?" I asked. That was interesting.

"Yes. My mother's father spoke French and only French, so she taught us how to speak it starting from when we could talk. Since it was the only language we were taught, it was our first language. English is easy for us, since our father taught it to us when our mother was done teaching us French, so we're bilingual," he explained. Then, he looked at me and said, "_Notre mère me disait qu'un jour, je voudrais trouver une femme et de savoir immédiatement qu'elle était la pour moi. Je commence à penser que j'ai trouvé la femme. Et je pense que je suis tomber en amour avec vous._"

"What did you just say?" I asked. It sounded beautiful, the way he said it.

"Maybe someday I'll tell you," he said, smiling and turning his head back to the road. He didn't say anything else, and I got frustrated. I was really curious as to what that meant, but I didn't know how to say it, let alone spell it.

We drove for a while longer, and came upon a newly paved road with little shops lining the sides of it. 1 of the shops, however, wasn't a shop at all, but was instead a 3-story restaurant where you would only think rich people would eat.

"Is that where we're having lunch?" I whispered.

"_Oui__, mademoiselle,_" he replied. He parked the car, got out, walked to my side of the car and opened the door for me. He offered his arm, and I could see Alice, Rosalie and Esme being escorted by Jasper, Emmett and Carlisle over to where Edward and I were. I was surprised that Rosalie was allowing Emmett to keep his arm over her shoulder, and that Alice was allowing Jasper to hold her around the waist. Esme and Carlisle were a bit more proper—what with Esme's arm linked through Carlisle's.

"_Bonjour, mes frères,_" he said. "_Comment-allez vous?_"

"Oh, no, Edward," Carlisle said. "Don't tell me you've been showing off. It's rude."

Edward just smiled at his eldest brother. "Maybe just a little."

"I think it's cute," Alice said. "I didn't know he spoke French."

"We all do," Jasper said. "_Maman_ taught it to us when we could finally speak because _Pépère_ only spoke French, then Dad taught us English. We're bilingual."

"That's really impressive," Esme said. "So English is your second language?"

"Yep," Emmett said. "Only, _je préfère anglais_."

"If you prefer English, Emmett," Edward said, "_puis pourquoi êtes vous français parlent_?"

"Oh, ha-ha, Edward," Emmett said. "Very funny."

"I thought so," was Edward's reply. It was kind of funny that they were bantering in French. It was also interesting to hear them speak it. Even though I knew it was their first language, they somehow made the words into music. Especially Edward.

"Okay, are you going to spend all night bickering, or can we go in?" Jasper asked. "I'm starving!"

We all filed in, and instead of requesting a table for 8, the guys requested 4 tables for 2 placed near each other. So we would all be together, but we'd all be separate as well. The maître d' lead us past all the other customers, and we entered a room that looked like it was reserved for VIPs of the restaurant.

"_Est-ce à votre goût monsieur_?" the maître d' asked.

"_Oui__, merci_," Carlisle replied. The maître d' left, and we all sat down at the separate tables.

"So, _mademoiselle_," Edward said. "Are you ready for our first date?"

"Is that what this is?" I asked him. "I was under the impression that this was a lunch outing with a bunch of friends."

"If that's all that this is," he said, "then why are we split up in couples instead of 1 big table?"

I had no response to that.

"So tell me about yourself, Bella," he said. "Any brothers or sisters?"

"Nope," I told him. "And the only people I would consider siblings are Esme, Alice and Rosalie. And Jacob, of course."

"How exactly do you know Jacob?" he asked. I might've imagined it, but I could've sworn I heard a little jealousy in his voice.

"Well, Alice, Esme, Rosalie and I all moved to town around the same time," I told him. "We were the subject of gossip for a while. Jacob was the only one who actually treated us like people and not like shiny new objects in a dull town. He took care of us."

"That's nice," Edward said. "So how many guys did he have to beat off of you?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"I—" He was interrupted by a waitress. A really pretty, pale, blonde, blue-eyed, robust waitress.

"_Excusez-moi, monsieur, mais ce qui vous aimez boire_?" the waitress asked. It sounded like she was trying to purr, but didn't really accomplish it. It sounded sexy in French, though, and I felt what little self-confidence I had left instantly vanish. She looked only at him, and didn't even seem to notice I was even there.

"_Un coke de régime pour moi, et_…Bella?" He looked at me. "What would you like to drink?"

"An iced tea, please," I said, trying not to let them see how self-conscious I was all of a sudden.

"_Un thé glacé pour la dame_," Edward said to the waitress.

"_Oui, monsieur_," the waitress said. "_Je serai bon dos avec cela_."

"_Merci_," Edward replied. The waitress left, and Edward turned back to me. "As I was saying, I merely meant how many guys whose attentions you didn't want did Jacob have to threaten?"

"Oh," I said. "None, actually."

"I find that hard to believe," Edward said.

"It's true," I told him. "All the guys in our high school knew I didn't date, and that I wasn't interested in any of them. If they wanted to go out on a date with me, it was probably to get closer to Rosalie, anyway."

"You don't see yourself clearly, do you?" Edward asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked, a little confused.

"I can't really explain it without fear of you hitting me or something," he said. "Anyway, can you figure out what your menu says, or do I have to translate it for you?" He smiled a gorgeous smile that made my knees weak. I would've fallen if I hadn't been sitting down. _What is wrong with me? _I thought.

"Will you please translate it?" I asked. He came over, and as I pointed out some of the things on the menu, he told me what it was. At first, I couldn't help but notice how close Edward and I were. I could smell the shampoo he used in his hair and the cologne he was wearing. When he started translating, I started paying attention. I was surprised that they had American foods like pizza and steak on it. He explained that since Americans weren't attracted to some of France's foods, they had to do something. Also, the pizza was mainly for the littler kids. After about 5 minutes, the waitress came back with our drinks. She handed me my iced tea, and handed Edward a brown drink.

"_Êtes-vous prêt à passer commande_?" she asked.

"_Oui_," Edward said. He ordered for us, and the waitress left with our orders. I sighed. "What's wrong, Bella?"

"Hm?" I asked. "Nothing. It's just…you do realize she's trying to flirt with you. Even though I can't understand what in the heck she's saying, I can in fact read facial structures. She's into you."

"I hadn't noticed," Edward said.

**EPOV**

This was proving to be interesting. When I was translating the menu for Bella, I couldn't help but notice how soft her hair looked…couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to run my fingers through it.…_No! Don't think like that, Edward_, my inner voice told me. If I was going to get through this date with Bella, I needed to get my mind out of the gutter. When Bella mentioned that the waitress was "into me" as she puts it, I was a little surprised. I really hadn't noticed. I was paying too much attention to Bella to notice anything but her.

"Well, I'm certain that she'll try to give you her phone number, if you're not careful," Bella said plainly. For a moment, I thought I saw a tiny flash of pain in her eyes, as if the thought of another woman with me was painful for her to think about. But what I told her in the car in French was true. _Our mother used to tell me that one day, I would find a woman and know instantly that she was the one for me. I am starting to think that I have found that woman. And I think I'm falling in love with you_, was what I'd told her. I really was starting to fall in love with her. But I couldn't tell her yet. It was too soon.

"So, how are your parents?" she asked, trying to make small talk.

"Well, Dad's at home relaxing now that he's turned over control of the park to us," I said. "And _Maman_ died 3 years ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry," she whispered. "I know what that's like."

"You lost your mom?" I asked her.

"I lost both of my parents." I could barely hear her. She sounded so sad.

"I'll tell you what happened to my mom if you'll tell me what happened to your parents," I said. She just looked at me. "Of course, if you don't want to, that's okay, I was just wondering," I added. I didn't want to make her do anything she didn't want to do.

"No, it's okay," she said. She took a deep breath. "My parents and I went to a party with some friends. Dad was police chief, and he'd put a lot of people away. We lived in Phoenix at the time, so he was big there. But at this party, there was someone who was related to someone my dad had put away. Her name was Victoria. Dad had put her husband James in jail, and she was upset. He was put away for attempted murder. She tried to visit him, they turned her away. Said he wasn't taking visitors.

"She talked to my dad, but he said that James was serving a life sentence. She didn't like that. So at this party, Victoria crashed it. She started shooting…everyone started screaming…" Bella looked so scared, like she was there all over again. I ached to comfort her, but I wasn't sure how to. Then she continued. "I hid in a guest room…Dad had put me there…said it was to keep me safe…but the screaming…it wouldn't stop…Dad had given me his cell phone…told me to call the station…that he and Mom loved me so much, no matter what happened…" She started crying, and her eyes were wide saucers.

"Bella, it's okay," I told her, but she didn't seem to hear me.

"He left…the shooting started again…the sirens started and got closer…I looked out the window and saw Deputy Mark with his gun out…I heard the door open and she pulled me out and put a gun to my head…"

"Bella, sweetheart, you're not there anymore," I tried to tell her, but it was no use. She was too far gone.

"She told me that if I tried to fight, she'd shoot. I was so scared. Deputy Mark banged down the door…10 officers followed him, tripping over bodies on the ground…the bodies of my parents, their friends…there was so much blood…"

"Bella." I went over to her and tried to hold her, but she started fighting. Alice and Rosalie heard her struggling and came over to help.

"What did you do to her?" Rosalie shouted. Esme went to the doors that separated our room from the main one, and closed it tight, closing the blinds in the process.

"I didn't do anything," I said. "We were just talking, and she was telling me about what happened to her parents, and—"

"She told you that?" Alice whispered. "She never tells anyone that. It's all a big secret."

"Jasper!" I called. I knew he would be able to calm her down. He was training to be a therapist, and was really good already. He'd calmed more than one woman down at the park.

"Bella," Jasper said. "It's over. You're not there anymore. You're safe here with my brothers and your sisters and I. We're here, and it's okay. She can't hurt you." He started rubbing her back, and told me to take over for him while he talked to her. She sank to the ground, and held onto my shirt. I went with her, wanting to hold her and comfort her as best I could.

"I'm so sorry," she kept saying over and over. "Sorry, sorry, sorry…"

"Bella, there's nothing to be sorry about, honey," Alice said, rubbing her back with me. "It's not your fault."

"I'll take her back to the castle," I said. I carried her outside—disregarding the stares we got—put her in the Vanquish, and started to drive home. She didn't stop crying the entire way back. When we walked through the castle doors, I asked one of the secretaries to go find Jacob. I knew Bella would want to talk to him.

I took her up to her room, pulled the key out of her purse, and laid her down on her bed. Then I waited for Jacob to arrive.

**This one took forever to write, but it's 5 pages long! For those of you who don't speak french—probably the vast majority of you—I will let y'all know what everyone is saying:**

_**Bonjour, mes frères. Comment-allez vous**_: Hello, my brothers. How are you  
_**Je préfère anglais**_: I prefer English  
_**Puis pourquoi êtes vous français parlent**_: Then why are you speaking French  
_**Est-ce à votre goût monsieur**_: Is this to your liking sir  
_**Excusez-moi, monsieur, mais ce qui vous aimez boire**_: Excuse me, sir, but what would you like to drink  
_**Un coke de régime pour moi, et**_: A diet coke for me, and  
_**Un thé glacé pour la dame**_: An iced tea for the lady  
_**Je serai bon dos avec cela**_: I will be right back with that  
_**Êtes-vous prêt à passer commande**_: Are you ready to order  
_**Notre mère me disait qu'un jour, je voudrais trouver une femme et de savoir immédiatement qu'elle était la pour moi. Je commence à penser que j'ai trouvé la femme. Et je pense que je suis tomber en amour avec vous**_: Our mother used to tell me that one day, I would find a woman and know instantly that she was the one for me. I am starting to think that I have found that woman. And I think I'm falling in love with you.

**And I had to fit in James and Victoria and that waitress from Port Angeles somehow! Although, I'm sorry about the sad-factor. Remember to R&R!**


	19. Comfort

**No disclaimer.**

**APOV**

"I hope Bella will be okay," I told Jasper. "She freaked out when she told the rest of us, too."

"I'm sure she'll be fine, Alice," Jasper said. "Edward's with her. Knowing my little brother, he'll take good care of her. He'll probably try to find Jacob, see if he can talk to her, seeing as how your girls are so close to him."

"Yeah, well, we've been together a long time," I told him. I was still amazed that Bella had told Edward about how her parents had been killed. She'd only told Esme, Rosalie, Jacob and I that. It took a serious amount of trust in someone before she'd open up about that incident.

**BPOV**

I couldn't believe I'd told him that.

Did I really trust him that much already?

He'd taken me to my room at the castle and was rubbing circles in my back, trying to calm me down. After what felt like forever, someone started banging on the door.

"Bells?" I heard Jacob's voice call. "Honey, are you alright? The secretary said you looked like you were in shock!"

Edward got off the bed to let Jacob in, I ran into his arms. I had to talk to Jake about this alone, try to explain to him what was going on, but I didn't want Edward to leave either.

"Bella, what happened?" he asked, pulling back a little so that he could look at me. But I didn't budge. I just hung onto his shirt and cried my eyes out. It was kinda embarrassing. When I didn't respond, Jake said, "What the hell did you do to her, Edward?" I felt him trying to tug my fingers off, but I didn't want to let go. I just wanted to hug my big brother figure.

"H-he d-d-didn't do an-anything to m-me, Jake," I sobbed against him. "I-I t-t-told h-him about my-my pa-par-parents." I started crying harder, and Jake looked at me like I'd grown another eye.

"You told him?" Jake whispered. He sounded shocked and awed, but I was past noticing. I just nodded into his shirt.

**JPOV**

_Wow, she must really trust him_, I thought. It had taken me almost 4 months before she told me about the incident with her parents, but it had only taken a day and a half for her to tell Edward Cullen. He must really mean something to her. But she was crying, just like she had when she told me what happened. I knew how to comfort her—Alice and Rosalie had told me how. I rubbed her back from between her shoulder blades to nearly the waistband of her jeans. To some that might seem like a sexual advance, but to Bella, it was just a form of comfort. At the same time, I crooned in her ear.

"Bella, you'll be alright," I said. "Victoria's in prison with her no-good, dirty, rotten, pig-stealing, ass hole of a husband." I knew that would cheer her up. The line from _Holes_ always did. Sure enough, a tiny half-giggle escaped her lips. It sounded a little shaky, but I knew that it would pass if I said the right things. I didn't notice when Edward scowled at me a little, but I didn't care. My feelings for Bella were purely brotherly.

Edward went towards the door, opened it, and got Bella's attention.

"No, please, stay," she whispered. He closed the door again then sat beside us on the bed. She got up off my lap and climbed into Edward's. I was a little jealous, but only because she now had another guy to comfort her instead of me. I knew it was bound to happen sometime, but I still wasn't prepared for it. I felt a little bit like her father in that way, which was a little scary because I was her age!

I left them alone, knowing Bella would want to explain all that had happened. So I walked out the door, and prepared to do some serious thinking about my co-workers and my "sisters".…

**EPOV**

Jacob left, leaving me alone with Bella, who was starting to calm down a little. Her body stopped heaving, and just started shuttering a little.

"Bella?" I asked. "Are you alright?"

"I-I think-k s-so," she said, stuttering just a little bit.

"Are you sure?" I asked. I was more than a little worried about her. In fact, I was extremely concerned about her. "Do you want me to leave…?"

"No!" she cried, throwing her arms around my neck and squeezing it tightly. I tucked her head beneath my chin. It felt nice to have her hugging me like this, only I would've preferred if it was out of affection instead of fear or desperation. I pushed that thought out of my mind. She needed comforting right now, not me thinking selfish thoughts.

"Okay," I told her, hugging her back. "I won't go anywhere."

"Promise?" she asked. She looked so vulnerable, and I just wanted to protect her with my life. That was kind of a turning point for me—the ultimate verification that I was falling in love with her, from what our father used to tell my brothers and me. As much as I wanted to tell her, it was way, _way_ too soon. Not only had it only been less than 2 days, but she'd just confessed something really big and we barely knew each other. I wanted her to get to know me better before I confessed my feelings for her, and I wanted to know her better.

"I promise, Bella," I told her. I pulled back a little so that I could look at her. "I won't go anywhere if you want me to stay here."

"But what about your job?" she asked. She looked so sad when she said it.

"Bella, I have a sub in case I can't make it to work, or if I'm sick, so I'll just call him in," I told her. I didn't want to leave her alone. She needed comfort right now, and I couldn't give it to her if I wasn't here. Even though I still had a couple hours before I had to get ready for the fantasies, I was going to call in my sub. I wanted to make absolutely sure that she was okay.

"Oh," was all she said to that. She burrowed her head into my chest, and before I knew it, she was asleep. I listened to her breathing, and it was strangely comforting to me.

"Edward."

I looked down, wondering if she'd woken up a little. But she was still asleep. That only meant that she was sleep talking.

"Edward."

"I'm right here, Bella," I replied, even though I knew she probably couldn't hear me. But, surprisingly enough, she responded.

"Don't leave."

Her voice was so clear; I had a hard time believing that she wasn't actually asleep. But afterwards, she started to snore very softly, and I knew that she was out. What I would give to be able to know what she was dreaming of. Was it of me? And if it was, was it of good things? She mumbled something that sounded like, "Don't leave me," but I couldn't tell. She started jolting a little in her sleep, but I didn't think it was something to worry about until she said, "Don't go out there." She was dreaming of her parents. Not surprising, seeing as how she'd just told me of a seriously traumatic experience not 15 minutes beforehand. When she started whimpering, I started rubbing her back again. She seemed to calm down a little, but then she started mumbling louder. A little crease appeared between her eyebrows, and it would've looked cute on her, if she wasn't so frightened from her apparent nightmare. I tried to wake her up, but she was a pretty heavy sleeper. I tried shaking her, but that only succeeded in her practically yelling, "Please don't hurt me!" In the end, I didn't have to worry about it, because she woke herself up by screaming bloody murder. Her eyes got wide, and for a moment, she looked like she was afraid of me. She started scrambling out of my lap, but I crooned to her as Jacob and Jasper had earlier.

"Bella, it's me, Edward!" I told her, rubbing her back. "No one will hurt you, I promise!"

She stopped fighting me, and she started crying again.

"Bella, what's wrong?" I asked her. I couldn't stand hearing her cry. It made my heart break to know that someone had hurt her this much in her past.

"Edward, I'm so sorry," she said for the umpteenth time that day.

"Bella, why do you keep saying sorry to me?" I asked her. It seemed like she took the blame for everything bad that happened around her. Why?

**BPOV**

I felt so horrible.

First, I ruined our date by telling him about my parents and completely losing it, forcing him to carry me out of a nice restaurant and leave our friends and family behind. Second, I made him wait out my panic attack and stay in my room with me, and third, forcing him to cope with my nightmares that I usually have for about a week after I spill the beans about that little incident. And to top it all off, I was now crying my eyes out right in front of him. Talk about embarrassing.

"Bella, why do you keep saying sorry to me?" he asked. He seemed a little irked, like he'd rather I didn't apologize for what I was basically forcing him to do. But how could I not apologize? I'd ruined his day. I told him so, and he brushed it away, saying, "Oh, please. Compared to some of the days my brothers and I have had, this was relatively easy."

I wished he'd stop being so nice and just tell me what he was really feeling.

He stayed with me until his brothers and my friends came back about an hour later.

**Lots of different POV's here. I just felt like I had to tell people what everyone else was thinking. So, I'm sorry for not updating sooner. School's pretty much eaten up all my time. So next will be the rest of the dates for everyone else, and they're happening at the same time. There might be more drama, there might not be. You'll just have to wait and see!**


	20. Noticings

**Okay, because I hate chapters that are just author's notes, I'm replacing the author's note I wrote with this chapter. Enjoy!**

**JPOV**

Bella had given us quite a scare, and Alice was nervous for almost 10 minutes. When the waitress who'd taken everyone's order came back with our drinks and saw Bella and Edward gone, she looked a little disgruntled. When she handed Alice and I our drinks, she asked, "_Où ont-ils disparu_?"

"_Ils sont allés à domicile_," I said. She just shrugged and walked away over to Esme and Carlisle's table, then to Rosalie and Emmett's. She gave them their drinks, and she walked away. I'd noticed that she was flirting with Edward through her body language, and completely ignoring Bella when she could get away with it. However, I'd also noticed that Edward had practically forced the waitress to give Bella her attention. The waitress hadn't been too appreciative of that, but she didn't complain out loud. She seemed to be too—well, not necessarily _polite_, but certainly…civil, I guess. At least she didn't start cussing Bella out in French. _That_ would've certainly caused a scene and upset Edward.

"So, what did you say, Jasper?" Alice asked. She took a sip of her Diet Coke, and looked at me with her wide brown eyes.

"Well, she asked where Edward and Bella went, and I told her that they left," I said simply. Alice just looked at me like she was expecting a punch line to a joke. "I'm serious, Alice," I insisted.

"Okay, whatever," she said, taking another sip of her Coke. "So, can you teach me to speak French?"

"Um, well, it takes a little time to learn it if English is your first language," I told her. And I was speaking the truth. There were about 5 or 6 different ways to say different words. I told her as much, and her eyes looked like they'd come out of her head, they were so wide.

"Oh, wow. 5 or 6 different ways just to say one word?" she asked.

"Yep. I can say the French word for 'to speak' in…" I counted on my fingers. "5 different ways."

"Really?" she asked. "Can you tell me?"

"It doesn't make sense if I say it that way," I said. "But, since you want to, I could probably help you speak French." I winked at her, and she giggled like a little school girl with her first crush. I couldn't help but smile. Her laugh sounded like wind chimes, and was so carefree. _She's definitely for me_, I thought.

**APOV**

_He's definitely for me_, I thought. Jasper knew how to make me giggle, and that was rare. I normally didn't giggle anymore, thanks to what happened with my family. Only Bella, Esme and Rosalie really know how to make me laugh anymore. The fact that he could make me laugh was a bit of a wake-up call, though I'd had a feeling that I would fall in love with him.

_Wait, love?_ I thought. _It's too early for love! I like him, but I'm not sure if I love him yet. I need to spend more time with him to be absolutely sure!_

Thinking of spending more time with Jasper brought a smile to my face. I certainly wouldn't mind spending more time with him.

"And what are you smiling at, Ms. Brandon?" Jasper asked.

"What did I say about the 'Ms. Brandon' crap?" I asked teasingly.

"That you hated it," Jasper replied. "I'm sorry, ma'am, I momentarily forgot." He slipped a Southern accent at the end, and I couldn't help but laugh at him. He started laughing too, and I noticed that our laughs were in perfect harmony; my soprano to his bass was a startling good blend. One that neither of us were expecting.

**EsPOV**

I heard laughing coming from Alice and Jasper's table, and I looked to see them laughing together. Their voices were in perfect harmony, and they sounded great together. It was so sweet to see that Jasper had opened Alice's heart. Ever since the incident with her family, she'd been so closed off. Then again, that can happen to someone whose parents locked them in an asylum for having dreams of the future. Bella, Rosalie and I believed her and didn't judge her for it, because she was always right. Plus, her grandmother shared her gift who explained everything to her. Apparently, the gift of sight, as Grandmother Brandon said, not only skips every other generation, but also goes to the oldest female child. Since Alice's dad's an only child and didn't have any sisters, the gift went to Alice instead.

"So, Esme, do you and your friends like the castle so far?"

Carlisle's voice pulled me out of my reverie. "Oh, it's very…" I struggled for a word that wouldn't sound _too _offensive. I settled for, "Interesting."

Carlisle chuckled. "Not many people would consider what we do, well, decent, to say the least," he said. "In fact, a jealous husband once accused us of indecent exposure. His wife was apparently a weekly customer and she…well." He blushed. It was adorable.

"What happened?" I asked. I was curious.

"She had a crush on our father," he admitted into his iced tea. I giggled a little. "Well, she only came to the park because, at the time, our father was the knight in shining armor. And up until last summer, he played the Tyrant King."

"Oh, wow," I said.

"Yeah," he said laughing. "Imagine your father playing a tyrant, while a…well, an _older_ woman tried to put the moves on him. Kind of scary for a 22-year-old guy."

"I can imagine," I told him, taking a sip of my lemonade. _Poor Carlisle_, I thought. It was funny imagining an old woman putting the moves on the father of 4 boys who were all in high school. I laughed a little bit, and Carlisle smiled.

**CPOV**

Esme had a wonderful laugh. It sounded like bells chiming. I smiled at her, glad that I'd done that.

"So, where are you girls all originally from?" I asked. I was very interested in Esme's life for some reason. All the other girls I'd dated hadn't fascinated me as much as Esme did.

"Well, I'm originally from a small town near Chicago, and that's all I'm going to say," she said. "Where the other girls are from are their stories to tell, not mine."

Hm. Beautiful, charming and protecting. Those were good qualities in a woman. Not many women these days were like that. They were all wolves waiting to kill each other with all the dirt they dig up on each other. Esme's reluctance to tell me where Bella, Alice and Rosalie were from was something I didn't see anymore.

Not that I'd ever seen it personally, but my father used to tell us that women were once peaceful with each other.

**Okay, I'm seriously sorry that I haven't been on in, like, forever! But I'm finally ungrounded, and I've also posted the first chapter in mine and -hale's **_**My Life as a Teenage Vampire. **_**Check it out, and let us know what you think! Thanks! Oh and here's the French translations:**

_Où ont-ils disparu _: Where did they go?

_Ils sont allés à domicile _: They went home.

**Carlisle and Esme's date will be continued in the next chapter. A little more drama anyone? Oh, yes.**


	21. First Kiss

**Okay, so I'm really sorry for the long wait. I'm finally ungrounded now, so yay!!! So, I'm extremely happy. Well, I've updated My Life As a Teenage Vampire, and mrs. whitlock-hale and I are extremely proud of ourselves. So, please go check it out, and tell us what you think! Remember, mrs. whitlock-hale was helped me write this story, so if you want to drop her a review for her stuff, I'm sure she'd appreciate it!! Thank you so much for all your guys' loyal reading! We love y'all!! Nessie. Carlie**

**CPOV**

Esme was so sweet and good. I was having a hard time _not_ liking her. Not that I'd want to not like her, but there was absolutely no fault in her.

"So, what do you plan on doing after you graduate college?" I asked her while we were eating our food. We'd been talking about nothing, mostly, but when the food got here, we started discussing life after college. I'd already told her that I was going to med school with Edward and she'd seemed a little impressed.

"Well, I'm into interior and exterior designing," she told me, a smile lighting up her face. "In fact, I designed our dorm room, and the place looks fantastic, if I do say so myself."

"Really? Well, maybe you can design a few new rooms that we're having put in at the castle?" I asked her. She smiled brilliantly for a moment, but then the smile faded to a bit of a frown.

"I don't know, Carlisle," she said. "I'm really busy at school, and the girls need me, not to mention—" She cut off suddenly, tears starting to come to her eyes. I went to her side, ignoring the looks I got from Alice and Rosalie.

"Esme, are you okay?" I asked. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Oh, you did nothing wrong, Carlisle," she said. "It's just…I don't know if my work will meet your expectations for the castle." I could tell she was lying, but I let it slide. She'd tell me what was wrong when she was ready.

"Esme, it's okay, you don't have to be perfect," I told her. "And I'm sure you could design the castle better than I or my brothers could." She giggled a little at that, and asked if we could leave early. "Sure, just let me let your friends and my brothers know and pay for lunch." She nodded, and I left her side to go tell them. "Hey, we're taking off early," I said to Rosalie and Emmett. "You guys okay with that?" Emmett nodded, then looked at Rosalie. I looked at her too, and noticed that she was looking at Esme with concern.

"Don't hurt her, or you'll be sorry," she threatened. Then she stood up, went over to Esme, and whispered something to her. Uh, oh.

**EsPOV**

"Esme, are you okay with this?" Rose asked me. "Are you sure you feel okay with him alone?"

"Rosalie, I rode here with him, didn't I?" I told her. She worried about me too much. Ever since last year's incident with my ex-fiancée…but I couldn't think about that. It was too painful.

"I know, Esme, but please be careful?" she begged. I just nodded, and she walked over to Alice and Jasper to let them know that Carlisle and I were leaving early. Jasper nodded, and Alice looked at me. I nodded at her, knowing what she was silently asking; it was the same thing Rosalie was: was I okay with being alone with Carlisle?

He came over to me, pulled my chair out so I could stand up, left a 50 on the table for the waitress to pick up, took my hand, and led us toward his car. Once we were inside, we sat in a comfortable silence, our hands still interlocked. We drove for about 15 minutes before I turned on the radio. It was set to an oldies station, and Carlisle and I both started singing to it. Hilariously, it was a duet with Johnny Cash and June Carter. He sang Johnny's part, and I sang June's. Our voices went well together, although Alice and Rosalie were the singers in our little group.

"You know Peace of the Valley?" I asked him. Normally, people didn't know who the heck I was talking about when I mentioned Johnny and June.

"Of course," he said, giving me a sweet smile. "Edward and I both like oldies, but he also likes classical music, and punk rock bands like Linkin Park and Nickelback."

"Bella will like that," I whispered. "She likes a variety of music, but mostly oldies and rock." I felt him looking at me, and I met his eyes. Then I realized that we weren't driving anymore. We were in the parking lot of the castle. Something sparked between us, and before I knew it, we were leaning towards each other. Our lips touched for a second before it progressed gradually into something more. His lips were soft on mine, and oh, so sweet. Nothing like…like…_him_. I pushed that thought away, concentrating only on Carlisle's kiss and how sweet and warm it was. But before it became a full-on make out session, Carlisle pulled back a little. My arm was around his neck, and his hand was in the small of my back, pushing me closer to him.

"Perhaps we should go inside," I whispered.

"Alright," he said, but he didn't pull away. Instead, we leaned closer, kissed again for a fraction of a second, and then I pulled away slowly and got out of the car. Carlisle came to my side, put an arm around my waist, and walked me back to the door to our room.

"Thank you," I said. "I had a really nice time." And I did. I don't think I've ever enjoyed myself on a date more than this one with Carlisle Cullen. I went inside, and saw that Bella had fallen asleep on Edward's chest, and he was napping underneath her, his hand tangled in her hair as if he'd been stroking it before he nodded off. It was such a sweet picture, I got out my camera, took a picture, and then went to my separate room to change and lay down myself. I had a lot to think about.

**CPOV**

_Wow_, I thought. I'd kissed a couple girls in my life, but none of them compared to Esme. Her lips were like soft velvet, and she tasted incredibly sweet. In that moment, I started to believe in love at first sight.

**Yay!! Carlisle and Esme had their first kiss! Appropriate, since they were the first couple to get together in the Twilight series. Alice and Jasper are getting closer, but they won't get together too quickly. Now here I go, rambling and spoiling the story for you! You wouldn't want that now, would you?**


	22. Getting to Know You

**OMG, you guys!!! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in, like, forever!! I've just been so busy with school; band's got a UIL contest, and then Spring Break where my family went to Chicago…it's just been so hectic! So I finally have a chance to update.**

**RPOV**

"Don't hurt her, or you'll be sorry," I threatened. Then I stood up and walked over to Esme. "Esme, are you okay with this?" I whispered to her. "Are you sure you feel okay with him alone?"

"Rosalie, I rode here with him, didn't I?" she said. Ever since last year's incident with her ex-fiancée I'd been more worried about her.

"I know, Esme, but please be careful?" I begged. She just nodded, and she walked over to Alice and Jasper to let them know that she and Carlisle were leaving early.

"Did you really have to threaten my brother?" Emmett asked. I looked at him over my glass of strawberry lemonade.

"I'm sorry," I said, honestly meaning it. "I just don't want to see any of my friends hurt. Especially Bella."

"Does what happened with Bella have anything to do with her freaking out earlier?" he asked. I just looked at him.

"If you want to know what happened to her, you'll have to ask her," I said cynically. I didn't mean to sound like a bitch, but the girls and I always kept each others' secrets, even if we thought some of the secrets needed to be let out of the proverbial bag.

"Okay, sorry," he said, holding his hands up as if in surrender. I looked around, and saw that only Alice and I were left at the restaurant. Alice looked at me, and we asked each other if we wanted to leave by raising our eyebrows. I nodded once, telling Alice that, after we ate, we'd leave.

"_Monsieur?_" The waitress asked. "_Qui aimez-vous manager ?_"

"_Je voudrais un steak-frites, et une filet mignon_," Emmett said. I recognized only one thing in that whole sentence: filet mignon. How he knew that that was my favorite dish in the world, I will never know. But he guessed right, and my like-level on him went up a couple points.

"So," I started. "How did you know that filet mignon was my favorite food of all time?"

He seemed startled. He looked at me with something akin to surprise. Then he smirked.

"I didn't," he said. "But you just look like the kind of girl who liked filet mignon, and I wasn't sure if you were one of those girls who didn't eat steak because it had too many carbs."

I looked at him incredulously. "Are you kidding? I freaking love steak! Is that what you ordered for yourself?"

**EmPOV**

She looked at me in a weird way. "Are you kidding? I freaking love steak! Is that what you ordered for yourself?"

_Wow_, I thought. _A girl who isn't afraid to eat meat! Hot damn, I like this girl!_

It was so hard to find a girl who didn't want to eat meat because it would ruin her figure. The last girl I dated was like that, and she chewed my ass on the 3rd date when I ordered spaghetti and meatballs for her. It was the end of that relationship.

Apparently, I was looking at her strangely, because she suddenly said, "What?"

"Sorry, it's just that I haven't met a girl yet who ate meat regardless of the carb-count," I explained.

"Well," she said. "Sucks for them."

"It really does, doesn't it?" I replied. "So, how're you girls liking the park so far?"

"It's really…" She looked like she was searching for the right word. "Interesting, I guess, is how I would put it. I didn't even know parks like this existed."

"Well, we don't really advertise on the radio, and commercials are out of the question," I replied.

"Why is that?" she asked. But before I could answer, the waitress came back with our food.

"_Vous voudrais autre chose?_" she asked. I just shook my head. "_Vous me ferez savoir si vous, non?_" she said.

"_Oui__, mademoiselle_," I replied, not looking at her. I was too focused on Rosalie. Put out, the waitress left. When I looked down at my plate, I saw that she'd written a piece of paper and had slipped it under the plate.

_Ma __téléphone__: 28 .15 .16 .27 .43_ (**AN: Self-explanatory translation. And this is how they write their phone numbers in France. I'm pretty sure. Okay, back to the story)**

I ignored the paper, and planned on just sending it back on the table when she cleared it off.

We started eating, and didn't talk about anything for about 15 minutes. By then, Rosalie—immensely enjoying her filet mignon—was almost finished with her lunch, and I was just polishing off my fries. I decided to try and start another conversation.

"So, what made you decide to go through life as a mechanic?" I asked.

"Well, I've been going to work with Dad in his garage since I can remember," she said. "When I was 8, he let me start working on them with him. When I turned 13, he signed me on as an actual mechanic to the garage. And I've been working there ever since. And when I started college, he went ahead and got me the money for my M3."

"So, how long has Jacob been working there?" I asked. I was curious. Jasper said he wanted to give his Ducati a check-up, but there were no close motorcycle shops.

"Jake's been working at the garage since he was 18," she said. "He's a great mechanic, and works wonders with motorcycles. Why do you ask?"

"Well, Jasper has been thinking about taking his bike in, but there are no close shops around," I explained. "I was thinking about going to Jacob to see if he could give the check-up."

"Jake's the best person to go to, then," she said. She didn't look like she was exaggerating. However, with girls, you never knew. All I knew about her was that she was very loyal to her friends and wouldn't rat them out, no matter how bad the thing they did.

"So, how long have you lived here?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

"I've lived here since I moved in the middle of freshman year of high school," she said. "Bella and Alice moved here that same week, and Esme moved here about a month later."

"Wow," I said. "So, y'all moved to town about the same time. I'll bet that caused the gossip-mongers to wag their tongues like crazy!"

"You have no idea," she replied, looking me straight in the eye and taking a sip of her drink. "As soon as Esme got here, people were convinced that we were some kind of bad girls who were here to disturb the peace of the little town. However, since we caused no trouble, the gossipers quickly lost interest in us, until we provided our own little scandals." She then covered her mouth a little, like she'd said too much. Then she looked wide-eyed at me, as if wondering if I was going to ask about the scandals. I decided that she would tell me when she was ready. I'd never felt like this about any girl. Normally I tried my damnest to hop in the sack with a gorgeous girl, but this was different. I wanted her to think I was different than other guys, wanted to show her that I was the better choice.

And it scared the shit out of me.

**RPOV**

I couldn't believe I'd let slip the fact that we had caused out own little scandals. Not that I had any intention of telling him what those scandals were. Especially not about Royce and I, Esme and Charles, Alice and her family, or Bella and her parents, although he probably had a good idea about what happened to them because she freaked out earlier. However, with Esme and Alice, there was no way I was going to spill about them. Those were those deep, dark secrets that needed to be told by the girls, not me. And when the girls felt ready to divulge into those secrets…well, that was their choice to make. Not mine.

**Ooh! Suspense! And y'all will find out later about Ethan and Charles, and we already know about what happened with Bella's parents, but I will also explain a little more about the thing with Royce. So stay tuned! Lots of love, Nessie. Carlie**

**P.S. Again, I'm really sorry about the delay in updating! And before I forget, translations!**

_Monsieur? Qui aimez-vous manager ?_ Sir? What can I get you to eat?  
_Je voudrais un steak-frites, et une filet mignon._ I would like a steak and fries, and a filet mignon.  
_Vous voudrais autre chose?_ Would you like anything else?  
_Vous__ me __ferez__ savoir __si vous__, non?_ You will call me if you do, no?


	23. My Dark Past

**Okay, guys, mrs. whitlock-hale and I are so psyched! We realized that 128 people have this story on Story Alert! OMG, you guys are amazing!! So, last chapter I said something about Alice and her family. The stage for this scene is still at the French restaurant, and this time it will be Alice spilling a couple of secrets to Jasper. However, Alice is a strong character, and won't break down like Bella did. After this chapter, all the girls will be back at the castle and the vacation will continue from there.**

**Short AN: Last chapter I said that Rosalie had moved to town the middle of freshman year. Oops! It's supposed to be the middle of 7****th**** grade! My bad.**

**APOV**

Jasper was amazing. I felt like I'd known him in another lifetime, even though I'd just met him…was it really only yesterday afternoon that we'd arrived at the park? It seemed like so much longer.

"So, how long have you known the girls?" Jasper asked.

"Well, we all moved to town at about the same time," I replied, starting up my favorite story. "It was the middle of 7th grade, and we were the gossip going around town. People were convinced we were some kind of 'bad girls' club coming in to take over their town."

"People thought y'all were a bunch of juvenile delinquents who wanted to wreak havoc on their town?" Jasper interrupted.

"Yes, they did," I said, giving him a look. "Please don't interrupt me, I can't stand it."

"Sorry," he said, ducking his head as if in shame. I giggled. He looked up from under his lashes and smiled at me, and I could swear my heart and belly fluttered like a billions butterflies were in them.

"Anyway, so here the girls in I were in a new town and we were all looking for a fresh start," I continued, looking at him with a what-is-said-between-us-stays-between-us look. He nodded, and I resumed the story. "We were all new, so we decided to hang out together. Turns out we were complete opposites from each other. Rosalie was like a cheerleader, Esme a bit of a mother hen, me the shopaholic, and Bella the mousy girl who didn't really talk to anyone.

"But the more we hung out the more we liked each other. We all got along really well despite out differences, and us hanging out caused people to gossip about us even more. The only person who bothered to get to know us was Jacob.

"We were skeptical about letting Jacob in at first—because we all had had our problems with guys in the past—but I had a feeling that he would be fun to hang out with. And I was right. He's like the big brother we all wish he had. Everyone except me is an only child, but my parents…" I stopped. I didn't like to talk about my parents, and the girls didn't push about the "untouchable subject."

Jasper seemed to understand that I didn't want to talk about it, so he said, "So you're all only children, and y'all became the best of friends because of it?"

"Yep, pretty much," I said. "Although, the fact that we all were also new kids in school helped a lot, too."

"I'll bet," he replied, smiling again. I felt like I could look at his smile all day and not get bored.

"So what about you?" I asked, turning the conversation away from me and the girls. I'd already spilled enough about them as it was.

"Let's see," he started, taking a sip of his soda. "My brothers and I are all bilingual, which you now know. I love western/cowboy movies and have since I was a kid. I often talk with a Southern accent because I can. I've been working here for 2 years now. I love horses, and I'm deathly afraid of spiders."

I giggled again, and said, "Lots of deep dark secrets are being spilled today, huh?"

"Oh, yeah, you don't know the half of it," he said sarcastically. We started laughing together, and I was surprised at how well our voices blended together. It was almost like music.

**JPOV**

When we were laughing at the completely true information I'd told her, I listened to our voices blend. Her beautiful laugh was like wind chimes, and it sounded surprisingly good with my deep bass voice. I looked at her eyes and saw that they were twinkling. I could almost feel the giddiness rolling off of her, she was so happy right now. I thought that, if this was my last day alive, I'd die a happy man just watching her laugh.

When we were done laughing, we saw that Emmett and Rosalie were about to leave. I stood up, walked over to Alice's chair, and helped her into her coat. It was soft, like cashmere. When she slid her arms into the sleeves I could tell she'd had it tailored to fit her specifically. It looked beautiful on her. The dark green fabric complimented her pale complexion instead of making her seem pasty.

I walked her to Edward's car, and opened her door. She slid in and I watched Emmett do the same with Rosalie. That surprised me. He normally forgot the manners Dad and _Maman_ had taught us when he was with beautiful women. And Rosalie was a beautiful woman, but I thought Alice was absolutely gorgeous.

When I slid in the driver's seat, Alice was looking at the radio. I motioned with my hand to turn it on if she wanted to, and she did. The car soon was filled with the sounds of Jon Bon Jovi and the lead singer of Sugarland, performing the duet "Who Says You Can't Go Home." I started singing Jon's part, and when it was time for Jennifer to jump in, Alice started singing. It was soft, but I could still hear her. She had a lovely voice, and it sounded better than Jennifer's. We finished singing, and I turned to Alice when we were at a red light. She seemed to be wiping tears from her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Alice, what's wrong?" I asked, taking her chin in my hand and turning her head gently toward me.

**APOV**

"Alice, what's wrong?" Jasper asked, turning my head gently towards him. I looked at him, his face slightly distorted by my tears.

"It's just…" I started. I decided to tell him the truth about why I wanted a fresh start. He already knew a little bit about Bella's reason, though he didn't try to get the answers out of me.

"It's just what?" he asked. Before I could chicken out my story came rushing out.

"I used to live near Biloxi, Mississippi before I moved here. My little sister, Cynthia, was my total opposite, and she was the favorite of the family. She was the perfect daughter, always doing what our parents told us to do and never questioning it. I was basically the family freak. Especially when I started having weird dreams when I turned 9.

"My extremely-Catholic parents thought I was just trying to get attention. But when my dreams started to come true, they accused me of pagan witchcraft, of being insane and of being possessed my demonic spirits. They finally just checked me into an asylum when I was 11-years-old."

I paused in my tale to gauge Jasper's reaction. He was looking at me instead of the road, but he'd pulled into a parking lot sometime during my story. He had a look of horror on his face.

"How could your parents do that?" he said finally. "What would drive them to that extreme? Even if their daughter did have dreams about what was to come…"

"I told you, my parents were extremely Catholic," I reminded him.

"How did you get out of that…place?" he asked.

"Well, my dad has a sister who lives about 5 minutes from the high school I graduated from. My dad had told her that she was a bad influence on me that she needed to stop filling my head with pagan nonsense. She somehow found out that my parents had put me in there, but I'd already been in there almost 6 months before she came and got me."

I started tearing up, memories of that horrible white room coming back to me. One specific memory—one of the older male patients trying to force himself into my room—came back with such a vengeance it started coming out before I could stop it.

"There had been no other children in there," I continued, "and I was forced to do everything with the adults. As an 11-year-old girl, I was scared to death. One of the male tenants had been charged with sexual assault on a 10-year-old about 4 months earlier, but he'd been proven mentally ill. One night, when his doctors were taking him to the restroom, he broke away from them and killed one of them. I heard him outside my room, trying to force his way in…"

I couldn't continue. I just let the tears fall, and I felt Jasper take me into his arms. Because of my time at the asylum I was light and didn't have a very large appetite. Jasper pulled me across the car and settled me on his lap and stroking my short hair, pushing the seat all the way back to accommodate both of us comfortably. I cried into his chest, and was comforted by his warmth.

**JPOV**

I was shocked by what she'd just told me. For her parents to put her in an asylum just because of a couple of prophetic dreams was an extreme that I couldn't fathom. Granted having a daughter who had psychic dreams was a lot to take in, but that didn't mean she was insane.

"Alice, I'm so sorry," I said, stroking her short black hair. It was soft and silky, and I ran my fingers through it.

"I-it's o-o-okay, J-jasper," she said. "I-it's not y-your f-f-fau-ault."

"Shh," I said, stroking her hair some more. "You don't have to talk anymore. I'll take you back to the castle."

"W-will you st-stay wi-with m-me?" she asked, looking up at me with tear-filled eyes.

"If you want me to," I answered. She nodded and climbed back into her seat. We didn't talk the rest of the way there, but there was no need. What she'd just told me showed me that she trusted me with a dark secret that probably not many people knew. Jacob probably knew, but she said he was like their big brother. I wondered what his reaction to her story was. I looked over at her to ask, but she'd fallen asleep on the leather seats. I decided to let her sleep. She'd just had a taxing few minutes.

When I pulled up to the castle, I decided not to wake her up and just carried her. I asked the secretary to hand me a master key, and she did without hesitation. I then walked to the nearest elevator and went up to the floor that had the Tower Room at the end of the hall. I was about to slide the card when Esme opened the door. She took one look at Alice sleeping in my arms and motioned for me to set her on her bed. I was about to let go of her when she grabbed onto my shirt, suddenly waking up.

"Don't go," was all she said, but it was in such a voice that I couldn't even think about refusing her. I slid into the bed next to her, propping myself up on the headboard, and she rolled onto my chest, falling asleep instantly. I stroked her hair again until I fell asleep myself. But right before I did, I heard her very softly say something that sounded like, "I love you, Jasper."

**Ooh, cliffie! Sorry, but I had to add that little sweetheart there at the end. It makes for a more interesting story! So, I know they didn't kiss, but it's Alice and Jasper. They don't need to be physical in order to show their love for each other. I promise they will kiss in a later chapter, but I'm working up to it. Jasper still needs to work out the info Alice just told him, and decide whether or not he's going to believe her about her dreams/visions. And there's no French in this chapter, so no translations.**


	24. My Heart Bleeds For You

**Okay, so here I am on my laptop in a moving car for a 16-hour drive to Charlotte, North Carolina, and we've been on the road for about…I'd say 4 hours now, and we left at 5p. Anyways, so I'm typing in a moving car for **_**y'all**_**. Not the easiest thing in a world. That should tell you how much I love you guys! Anywhosers, I'll stop my rambling, and let y'all read the next chapter!**

**CPOV**

The girls were in their rooms tonight, just as they were last night. We hadn't seen them all day, or for the rest of the day yesterday, and we were missing them. They didn't even do the fantasies like they did that first night. We'd contemplated visiting them, but we decided to let them come to us.

"Well," Emmett started. "That's definitely one of the most…_interesting_ dates I've been on."

"No kidding," Edward responded. "I really wasn't expecting…well, I don't really know what I was expecting last night, if the truth be told."

"Yeah," Jasper said. We were all in the changing room getting ready for tonight's fantasies. I noticed that Jasper wasn't talking much, but then again neither was I. I was still thinking about the kiss Esme and I had shared before we parted. I wondered briefly if something similar had happened between Alice and Jasper, but I decided not to press it.

"What happened with the girls last night?" Jacob asked, coming into the locker room to change into his skimpy outfit.

"Well," Edward said. "As you know, Bella told me about the thing with her parents—"

Emmett interrupted him. "Rosalie told me about her asshole of an ex-fiancée—"

"And Alice told me about her family," Jasper finished.

"They told you all that?" he asked, incredulously. "Damn, I'm jealous. It took them about a year and a half before they decided to clue me in on their lives, but it only took them less than a day to tell you guys."

"Oh, wow," I said, not knowing what to say to that. I was a little upset that Esme hadn't told me what was bothering her earlier, but I knew that she would tell me when she was ready. "And I noticed that all 3 of you were in their room, and 2 of you were sleeping in their beds. Care to explain?" I continued, not thinking that Edward and Jasper would take advantage of a girl who needed comfort, but you really never know…

"They were in their bedrooms?!" Jacob suddenly shouted.

"Relax, Jacob," Jasper said. "We didn't take advantage of 2 distraught girls. Hell, Edward wouldn't take advantage of a slut if she offered herself with her birthday suit on."

"Shut up, Jasper," Edward said, blushing a little. It was pretty funny when he blushed, because his entire face turned pink. It was very becoming of my youngest brother.

"Well, it's true," Jasper said, turning to him. Then he turned back to me and continued. "They just didn't want to be alone, and they asked us to take a nap with them. So we did."

"And nothing happened?" Jacob asked, just wanting to make sure.

"Jacob, you worry too much," Emmett said. "You're starting to sound like my father. It's not a very fitting personality for you."

"Emmett, hush," I said. "Just go do the fantasy, and we'll talk later."

"Whatever," he said, and walked into the room where the latest girl was waiting for him to be a total barbarian and make a total fool of himself.

I sighed. Sometimes Emmett could be so dense, it was amazing that we came from the same gene pool.

"Hey, Carlisle?" I heard Jasper say behind me. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure, Jasper," I said, instantly worried about my brother. He sounded so…unsure of himself. "What's wrong?"

"Uh, can we talk _alone_?" he said, looking nervously at Jacob.

"Yeah," I said, understanding that he probably wanted to talk about Alice. We walked to a secluded section of the locker room, and Jasper made sure no one was around before he spoke in a low whisper.

"Carlisle," he whispered, "Alicesaidshelovedmelastnight."

"Wow, slow down, Jasper," I said. "I can't understand you when you speak like that."

"Alice said she loved me last night," he said, talking slowly, but still softly. I looked at him, a little stunned. Surely it was way too early for anyone to be professing love?

"What?" was all I could say. When Jasper nodded, he then ran his fingers through his hair, something all of us did when we were worried or stressed out about something.

"She was asleep," Jasper explained, "but she whispered she loved me."

"Did she remember it when she woke up?" I asked. It was possible she didn't remember, but you never know…

"I don't know," Jasper said. "I didn't bring it up, and she didn't mention it. I don't know if she remembers it or not."

"Well, don't mention it to her," I told him. "At least, not until she's already said she loves you when she's aware of it. You can mention it as a bit of a story, I guess, but don't mention it before that."

"Alright," Jasper said, sitting down on a bench and shoving both his hands in his hair.

"Jasper, there's no use in worrying over it," I said. "Have you seen her since?"

"No, I…I woke up right before she woke up, and she was still asleep," Jasper said.

A knock on the locker room door startled us, and I went to open the door. Imagine my surprise when it was Esme on the other side of the door.

**EsPOV**

What was I doing? Was I really going to do this just because the girls told their secrets to the other Cullen boys? As much as I liked Carlisle, could I trust him with my secret? What would he think of me after he knew? How would he react? Would he still like me?

I knocked on the door to the men's locker room, but I wasn't expecting to see Carlisle standing there. He seemed surprised to see me, though I was starting to wonder if I wasn't crazy for doing this.

"Esme?" he said, coming out of the room. He was a good head taller than me, so I had to crane my head up. "Is there something wrong?"

"Can I talk to you?" I asked. He closed the door behind him, and led me to a bench that was away from prying eyes that I hadn't even noticed before.

"What do you want to talk about?" he asked. He was in his costume, so seeing him acting kind when he was supposed to be a Dark Sorcerer was pretty hilarious. However, I wasn't laughing.

"I…" I wasn't sure how to bring this up. "I want to tell you something, but…I'm not sure _how_ to tell you."

"Esme, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, or aren't ready to," he said. "Just because the others told my brothers one their secrets doesn't mean you have to tell me one of yours. And I'm not going to force you to if you aren't ready."

Tears started forming in my eyes. This man was so nice, and he wasn't anything like any of the other guys I'd known. But if there was anything I knew about guys, is that many of them were too good to be true and there was always a catch.

"No, I…I want you to know," I said, looking down at my lap.

"No, Esme," Carlisle said, pulling my chin up so that I could meet his eyes. Then he put his finger over my mouth. "Until you're ready, I don't want to hear your secret."

"Alright," I said, finally giving in and speaking around his finger. He was right; I wasn't ready to tell him yet. "I won't tell you until I'm ready."

"Good girl," he said. Then he pulled his finger away, cupped my face in his hands, and gave me a gentle kiss. It was our second kiss together, but instead of thinking things were moving way too quickly, his kiss felt so right.

I kissed him back, and that seemed to trigger something in him. Our kiss went from gentle and sweet to passionate, but not possessive or demanding. His arms wrapped around me in a gentle embrace. He gently nudged my lips open with his own, and before I knew it our tongues were battling for dominance. I eventually let him take over, and his tongue invaded my mouth.

A throat being cleared pulled us out of our embrace, and I turned to see Edward and Jasper standing there, Edward looking slightly embarrassed. Carlisle pulled away, but didn't release me. He just turned around so that we were both facing his brothers and he was holding me around my middle, my back pressed to his chest.

"Sorry to interrupt your moment, but the next request is for you, Carlisle," Jasper said, not looking at either of us. Carlisle sighed.

"Alright, I'll be right there," he said. Jasper nodded, then he and Edward went back into the locker room. He turned to me and then said, "Esme, I…I know we only met yesterday, but…will you do me the honor of becoming my girlfriend?"

**Like the last chapter, I was contemplating on stopping here, but since my parents are driving to North Carolina and have a lot of free time on my hands, I'll go ahead and let y'all have a little more to the story!!**

**CPOV**

Was I insane? Did I seriously just ask her to be my girlfriend?

She seemed a little surprised by my question, but then her face broke out in a beautiful smile.

"Sure, why not?" she said, immediately making my night.

"Thank you," I said lamely. Then I leaned in, kissed her lightly, and went back into the locker room, smiling like a fool.

"What the hell, Carlisle?" Emmett asked, taking the shoulder off of his plaid for a minute.

"Carlisle, what in the world did Jasper and I walk in on?" Edward asked.

"What's got you looking like an idiot?" Jasper asked. I turned to my little brothers.

My response to all their questions was, "I've got a girlfriend."

**Ahh!! Carlisle and Esme are officially together! I'm not sure who's next; either Alice and Jasper, or Emmett and Rosalie. Ooh, I have an idea, let's have a vote. Tell me which couple you want to see together next, A/J or Em/R. I'm not going to do Edward and Bella yet, so don't ask me, please! Those two are going to be last, and I have a special way planned for them to get together. Just an FYI, the couple who wins the vote may not appear right away. So no flames please if you don't see them in the next chapter!**


	25. You Don't Have To Tell

**Hey! OMG, so I'm sorry I haven't been on in, like, forever!! I've been really busy with school, TAKS testing, and then drum major try-outs were this week!! So, I've been back from N.C. for about a month. I would've updated sooner, but, like I said, life's been throwing me curve balls. Not to mention trying to plan my sweet sixteen!! God, I feel so old!**

**Recap on the last chapter: Carlisle and Esme are officially together, the guys want the girls to come to them, and in my AN, I decided to call for a vote on who the next pairing should be. I'm still taking votes, so let me know. Emmett and Rosalie, or Alice and Jasper? Tell me!!**

**EsPOV**

I returned to my room, and the girls bombarded me, talking above each other and wondering what the heck happened in the locker room. Did I tell Carlisle my secret? What was his reaction? Did his brothers overhear? What were their reactions?

"Girls," I started, trying unsuccessfully to calm them down enough to tell them what happened. "I didn't tell him."

"Why?" Rosalie asked. "I thought you were going to?"

"I was," I said, "but he said that he didn't want to hear it until I was ready to tell him."

"Awe!" Bella cried, sounding like Alice when she found something really cute on sale. "Esme, that is so great! He really cares for you!"

"I'd like to think so," I said, smiling when I thought about the fact that he'd asked me to be his girlfriend and I'd accepted.

"What did he ask you?" Alice asked. I'd forgotten about her and her feelings for certain things. Apparently she'd had a feeling about something like this happening.

Bella and Rosalie looked expectantly at me.

"He asked me to be his girlfriend," I said, giggling a little at the end. The girls all shrieked, and soon we were jumping up and down and hugging each other like there was no tomorrow.

"Oh, my gosh, what did you say?" Bella immediately asked after we'd all calmed down somewhat. "Did you say yes?"

"Of course she did!" Rosalie said. Then she turned to me. "You did say yes, didn't you?"

"Yes, I said yes," I told her. Alice squealed again, and that had us doubling over in laughter all over again.

"This is great, Esme!" Alice said. "And I have a feeling that this is going to last a really long time!"

**CPOV**

"I've got a girlfriend."

"Dude!" Emmett shouted, surprising Mike who was just coming into the locker room. He slapped me on the back and said, "I didn't think you had it in you! Holy shit. I never thought I'd see the day when Carlisle got himself a girlfriend, but that day has arrived!"

"Shut up, Emmett," I said, trying my hardest not to turn red. Then I turned to my sub. "Hey, could you take over tonight?"

"Sure," he said, shrugging out of his jacket. Then I took my costume off—hanging it up in my locker—and put my nice evening clothes on. I walked out of the locker room and toward the stairs (they were faster than the elevator). When I got to the Tower Room, I heard a lot of giggling coming from inside. Apparently Esme had told the girls already.

I knocked on the door, and the giggling suddenly quieted. When the door opened Bella was on the other side. She was on the petit side, so I had to look down a little to be at her eye level.

"Carlisle, what a lovely surprise," she said with a smile. "I assume you came here to see Esme?"

I smiled back at her. "Yeah, actually, I did. Do you know where she is?"

"As a matter of fact," Bella said, moving aside and motioning me inside and closing the door behind me, "Alice and Rosalie dragged her off to play Barbie."

"What?" I asked. I had no idea what that meant, but it was obviously an inside joke with the girls.

Bella just laughed at my confused expression. "What I mean is, Alice and Rosalie are going to do her hair, make-up, and choose her outfit. Alice had a feeling you'd be coming up."

"Are Alice's feelings always correct?" I asked.

"Mostly always," Bella said. "The only time her feelings are wrong is when one of us makes a split decision. Then it totally throws her off."

"Only when one of you makes a split decision?" I asked. That was interesting…

"Yep," she said, popping the P. "Otherwise, she'll know about it. It's actually pretty creepy sometimes. But she's never used her feelings to her advantage. Only to help other people." Bella's expression became one of sadness, and I wondered what kinds of things Alice helped with. But before I had time to ponder that thought, Bella suddenly smiled a little too brightly, like she was trying to hide her emotions. "So, where are you going to take her?"

"Well, she needs to say yes, first," I reminded her. She just laughed.

"If she said no, then what would be the point of Alice and Rosalie playing Barbie with her?" Bella asked, going into the little kitchen unit that was set up in that room. It was the only room with a kitchen unit, because it was for the customers who decided to spend more than the weekend at the park. And they had it because they would be spending 3 weeks here. My face broke out into a smile at that thought. I still had about 2 ½ weeks with her. Hopefully by the end of that time I could convince her to make our relationship more permanent…

I was pulled out of my thoughts by Bella handing me a glass of water. I took it, had a small sip, then put it on a coaster on a nearby coffee table. I could see water rings where previous customers—namely Lauren Mallory—had set down cups without coasters under them. I looked up to see Bella looking at me.

"Coaster?" she said with a pointed look.

"Yeah…" I said slowly. "I can't stand rings on the tables."

"Well, then you and Esme will get along famously," Bella responded softly. "She can't stand to see her furniture ruined. She loves decorating houses, and she does awesomely during the holidays. During Halloween, the dorms and the haunted house are the scariest you've ever seen. She does a really fantastic job."

"Yeah, I asked her to design some room for the castle," I told her. "We've been meaning to add on to the castle to make it a little larger, but our last contractor retired 3 months ago."

"What did she say?" Bella asked excitedly.

"She said she didn't know," I said, a little disappointed. "I'd hoped to see some of her designs, but she won't let me see them."

Bella looked like she was about to say something, but she was interrupted.

"Hello, Carlisle!" Alice said excitedly. "Are you ready to see her?"

I nodded, and then Rosalie came up behind Alice.

"Where are you taking her?" Rosalie asked.

"Rosalie, come on," I heard Esme's voice say. "I'm not a teenager going on her first date, and you're certainly not my father!" She came out of the bedroom, and I could only stare. She was absolutely gorgeous.

She turned to me, a beautiful smile lighting up her heart-shaped face. Her caramel-colored hair was piled up in an elegant twist atop her head. Her dress came down to her knees, had a shimmering belt that criss-crossed just under her bust—not that I was looking—had a sheer red slip underneath that was meant to be seen, and it was a dark-red color. She was so stunning, I nearly tripped on my way over to her.

"Wow, you look really very beautiful Esme," I stumbled out eventually, taking her hands in mine.

"Thank you, Carlisle," she said with a slight smile. "So, where are we going?"

"That, my dear, is a surprise," I said with a smile, offering her my arm. "Shall we?"

She looped her arm through my offered one, and we walked out the door. I turned back to the girls, and I saw that Alice and Bella were smiling. Rosalie had a ghost of a smile on her face, but at least she wasn't trying to kill me.

Yet.

**Dun, dun, dun!! I'm just kidding, Rose isn't going to kill Carlisle! What kind of author would I be if I made Rosalie do that?**

**Anyways, I'm still taking votes for the next couple. Em/R or A/J? Come on, people, vote! So far, I've only gotten 10 votes all together! I know y'all can do better than that! And I won't tell you who won until I post that chapter!**

**BTW, I have a picture of Esme's dress on my profile if you want to check it out.**


	26. Dinner Date

**Sorry if I psyched anyone out. I forgot to put a little something in this chapter, and I didn't remember it until after I'd posted it. Sorry for any confusion!  
****Okay, I have another chance to update!! Finally! I'm so sorry that it's been so long since I've updated. I've been really busy, plus I can't get on the computer until my dad gets home because my parents have put parental blocks on them. And let me tell y'all, it's really annoying!  
****Anyway, I'm waiting one more chapter for last-minute votes. Who would you like to see next? Alice/Jasper, or Emmett/Rosalie? I'm saving Edward/Bella for last, so please don't ask.**

**Oh, and for the outfits of Carlisle and the valets, look on my profile. I've updated that as well.**

**EsPOV**

When I saw Carlisle at the door, I almost swooned. He was very good-looking in his white pressed shirt, burgundy-patterned vest, tie, grey jacket and grey slacks.

I looped my arm through his offered one, and we set off. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Carlisle look back at the girls. I looked back as well and saw Alice and Bella were smiling away, but Rosalie still looked a little apprehensive.

_She'll get over it_, I thought. It wasn't like I hadn't been on dates before, but the girls had always picked guys they thought they could trust after…_Don't think about it!_

"Esme, what's wrong?" I heard Carlisle ask. I started messing with my dress, a nervous habit I had that irritated the heck out of Alice.

"What? Oh, nothing," I said, not wanting to ruin our date when it hadn't even started. "I was just thinking about the way Rosalie looked at us; almost like she wanted to smile, but wouldn't allow herself to. It's not really like her."

"She's probably just worried about you," Carlisle said. "Just give her time. If she likes me, she'll come around. If not…well, I'll see what I can do to change that."

"Do you mean it Carlisle?" I asked. He really was too sweet. He wanted to make sure my friends liked him as well as me. _That_ wasn't something I saw in most guys nowadays.

"Of course I mean it, Esme," he said, putting his hand on top of mine on his arm. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know," I said truthfully. "It's just that most of the guys we meet want to go out with one of us, and don't care about the rest of us. It just irritates the snot out of all of us. We consider ourselves a bit of a package deal. It's either the guys likes all of us, or dates none of us."

"Well, I don't think you'll have to worry about my little brothers on that one," Carlisle answered with a smile. We walked in a comfortable silence until we got to his Mercedes.

"Can you please tell me where it is we're going?" I asked him.

"I told you, it's a surprise," Carlisle said. "But I can thank Alice and Rosalie for having you ready to go pretty much as soon as I walked in."

"Thank Alice," I said. "She'd slipped into some kind of…trance, I guess you could call it, but only for about a second. Then she was dragging me and Rosalie to her room of the suite, and stuffing me into this dress." I looked down at my dress. It was one of the formal ones I'd brought with me to the park, as we'd all decided that we wanted to see what kind of restaurants were here. "Anyway, I'm actually glad I brought this dress. We look like a married couple."

When I said the word married, Carlisle looked at me with something akin to surprise in his eyes. I realized my faux pas and tried to correct it.

"Not that I'm saying that I'm going to marry you," I babbled. Then I winced. "That didn't come out right. I'm just…I meant that it…oh, gosh, I'm totally messing this up, aren't I?"

Carlisle just smiled and came around to open the car door on my side. "I know what you meant," he said good-naturedly. "And I agree. We do look like a married couple. But I think what you mean is that, just because we're going out, doesn't mean it's instant wedding bells. I think that it would be great if we got married, but it's way too soon to be booking the church."

I sighed with relief and got into the car. He _did_ understand. Most guys, as soon as they heard anything loosely related to marriage, bolted.

Carlisle started the car, and started driving in almost the same direction as the French restaurant we went to the other day. I looked at him, but at the fork in the road about 5 miles from the restaurant, he turned left instead of right. My face must have been showing my confusion, because he just looked at me and smiled. After another 10 minutes of driving, he pulled up to the front of the restaurant. A boy of about 16 wearing a gold vest, white undershirt, and brown pants came up to the car, and got in the driver's side when Carlisle and I got out.

"Valet parking," I said. "I'm impressed. Where are we, anyway?"

"The place where my father proposed to my mother about 30 years ago," Carlisle said, offering his arm to me again. I took it, and we walked in together.

**CPOV**

When we walked through the double doors, I approached the hostess at her podium.

"Table for 2, please?" I said.

"I'm sorry, sir, but the wait will be about an hour," she said.

"May I please speak to the owner?" I asked her. She looked at me as if she couldn't believe what I was saying. Why would I want to speak to the owner? Like it would make a difference.

She shrugged, and went to get the owner anyway; probably just to humor the impatient man with his beautiful girlfriend. The thought of Esme as my girlfriend made me smile. I turned to her, picked up her hand from where it lay on my arm, and kissed the back of her hand softly. Her skin took on a slight pinkish tinge that looked adorable on her.

I don't know how long we stood there staring at each other like lovesick fools, but eventually a distinct English-accented voice said, "Carlisle, how are you, son?"

"I'm well, Alistair," I said, reluctantly letting go of Esme's hand and shaking his, which led to him pulling me into at hug. "How are you?"

"Busy, as usual," Alistair said, letting go of me. "And how is your father?"

Alistair and my father had grown up together in Virginia and still kept in touch. He was like a brother to my father, and an uncle to my brothers and me.

"My father is doing fine," I told him. "And because I know you will ask, the park is doing well."

"Good, good," Alistair said. "And who is this lovely young lady?"

"Mr. Collins, allow me to introduce my girlfriend, Esme," I said, not able to keep the smile off of my face. Then I turned to _my girlfriend_ and said, "Esme, this is Mr. Alistair Collins, my dad's best friend, and the owner of this restaurant."

"How do you do, Mr. Collins?" Esme said, putting her hand out. Alistair took her offered hand and kissed it much like I had just a few seconds earlier.

"Very well, my dear," Alistair said, "and please, call me Alistair. None of that 'Mr. Collins' business. Only my employees call me that, and it makes me feel older than I already am."

"Alistair, you are not old," I said. He was as old as my father—52—but he didn't look a day over 35, unlike my father who pretty much looked his age.

"Carlisle, please," Alistair said, "the fact that your 24th birthday is in about 2 months makes me feel like an old man. I've known your father since we went to school together more than 45 years ago."

Esme interrupted our little banter, thankfully, by saying, "Your birthday is in 2 months?"

"Yes," I said, "and Edward's is next month. He'll finally be in his 20s!"

"And how are your brothers, Carlisle?" Alistair asked. He then turned to the hostess and said, "Have the boys prepare a private table."

"Yes, sir, Mr. Collins," she said, beaming at him. She signaled for us to follow her. I took Esme's hand, and we followed the hostess. When she sat us down at a private table, she asked if she could start us off with some water and that our waiter would be right out. When she left, I looked at Esme.

"So, what do you think so far?" I asked her.

"I think you have some very nice connections," she said admirably. She looked at her menu, and flipped over to the wine section. "So, what wines are good here?"

"Hm," I said, trying to think of the best wines they served here. I took my menu, and looked at the wine section as well. When I spotted the 2 I'd liked last time I came here, I said, "Either the 2001 Clos du Bois Zinfandel, or the 2001 Viña Santa Ema Cabernet Sauvignon."

"Huh," she said, looking at her menu. "I've never heard of those."

"They are great with dinner," I told her. "The zinfandel has delicate spice notes, with vanilla and coconut nuances mingling with dried berry flavors," I recited from the book my dad had back at our house, "and the cabernet has some moderate berry fruit, picking up herb and dried cherry notes on the back end, and the finish has slightly dusty tannins, but could use a bit more succulent fruit. Both wines are good, but I like the cabernet."

"Okay, then," she said. "We'll go with the cabernet. By the way, how do you know so much about wines?"

"Well," I said, telling her my secret, "my dad has this book at our house called the_ Ultimate Guide to Buying Wine: Eighth Edition_, and it's really helpful at wine tasting parties. My dad takes it every time he goes to one, and it really helps him choose really good wines. And since my dad took me to one a last year, he had me read it front to back so that I wouldn't end up choosing…less than satisfactory wines."

"Wow. That's cool. I wish my parents were like that. But my mom is way against ladies heavily drinking, and my dad thinks that ladies shouldn't drink period," she said, looking at me. "Whenever my mom used to sneak a glass of wine before she went to bed, my father would yell at her about drinking his wine. It was quite frightening at times, but I got used to it. It got to a point where I would just stay in my room, blast my radio, and wait until they stopped yelling."

"That's a terrible way to grow up!" I said, meaning it whole-heartedly. "What kind of parents—"

"The kind that grew up the same way," she said in defense. I had to admit, she was loyal; loyalty wasn't really something that I found in a lot of girls I met. A couple of them were just opportunists. "Anyway, my parents were supportive of me, though, as long as I didn't drink under their roof. They tried not to show that their marriage was in danger, but they had just gotten through a divorce when I moved. Mom got custody of me and found another guy, and dad found another woman. My stepmom is great, though. She makes my dad happy. And my stepdad is cool. He treats me as if I were his daughter instead of just his stepdaughter."

"Sounds good," I said. I felt a little…honored that she was sharing her family with me, albeit the fact that her parents were divorced, but still, it was something. I was about to say something else, but the waiter chose that moment to come out and get our order, and bring us the wine. I ordered us the cabernet, and we told him to come back in a few minutes before we ordered dinner. We looked at our menus, and after about 5 minutes, the waiter came back for our order. I ordered Pasta Primavera, which was pasta tossed with sautéed vegetables, herbs, and extra virgin olive oil, and Esme ordered Chicken Marsala, chicken sautéed and served in a marsala wine and mushroom sauce. When the waiter left to put in our order, Esme tried the cabernet.

"Carlisle, this is wonderful," she said after she swallowed it. She'd closed her eyes while she was drinking it, and I could see that she did in fact find it wonderful. I took a sip of my own wine, and it was as good as I remembered from the wine tasting party my dad had thrown last year.

We resumed talking, but we didn't approach the subject of her parents again, and that was alright with me. _She'll tell me more when she's ready_, I thought to myself. We talked a little about ourselves—where we grew up, where we went to school. We also talked about what we wanted in life. When I told her that I was studying to be a pediatrician, her eyes became as wide as the saucers in front of us.

"A pediatrician?" she asked.

"Yes," I said. "I've always loved working with kids, and by being a pediatrician, I can help make them better. I've seen too many kids with serious cuts and bruised everywhere, whether from home, or from playing outside, but I've also seen so many with incurable diseases. It breaks my heart to have to see them suffer like that."

"They're too young to have to deal with that," she agreed. "And, personally, I'm glad you chose to be a kid doctor. Not many guys I know would willingly choose that profession."

"Yeah, well, I'm not most guys," I told her, a small frown on my face. Our food came then—I suspected that Alistair had something to do with the quickness of our food coming out—and we started eating. It wasn't until we were almost done with our meals that we started talking again.

"Carlisle, this food is amazing," Esme said. "I can't believe you actually got us a decent table right away."

"Connections, my dear," I said. "It's all about who you know, and I happen to know the owner of this particular restaurant."

"How fortunate for you," she muttered under her breath. I wasn't sure I was supposed to hear that, so I didn't mention it.

The waiter came back with the check, and I could see Esme digging in her purse.

"What are you doing?" I asked, taking three $20s out of my wallet and putting it in the book.

"What?" she asked, an innocent look on her face, while she tried to hide the fact that she'd tried paying for our meal.

"We're on a date, I brought you here, I'm paying," I told her. _Why does she feel like she has to pay?_ I thought to myself. _What kind of guys has she dated in the past?_

The waiter came back almost immediately for the book, I told him to keep the change—because I knew our meal was only about $55, knowing Alistair—pulled back Esme's chair for her, offered my arm once again, and led her out of the restaurant, tossing a smile over my shoulder at Alistair.

**So, what did you guys think? Again, I'm really sorry I haven't updated in forever! Busy schedules are a pain. Not to mention the darn parental controls.**

**Okay, enough of my ranting. Oh, and that wine book that Carlisle was talking about? I actually found that book in my game room, and started looking through it. The descriptions are straight from the book, though, so I can't take credit for writing that myself.**

**Remember, I'm still taking last-minute votes for the next couple. Alice/Jasper, or Emmett/Rosalie? You guys decide!**


	27. A Surprise Visit From

**You guys are so amazing! I've gotten so many votes for the next couple! And so many reviews after less than a day of updating! No lie, I had more than 50 unread e-mails in my inbox when I logged on! Y'all are awesome!**

**So, last chapter, Esme and Carlisle went on a date at a 5-star restaurant that his dad grew up with. Now, it's time for the next couple to get together. And the winning couple is…**

**EsPOV**

After Carlisle took me back to our suite—but not before kissing me good night!—the first thing that caught my eye when I walked into the room was Alice bouncing up and down on the futon. I ignored her, walked to my room, and saw Bella sleeping in her own room next to mine. I didn't see Rosalie, so I assumed she'd gone to bed. At first, I thought it was early for them to be asleep. But when I looked at the clock on the cable box, I realized that I'd been gone for almost 3 hours! No wonder Bella and Rose had gone to bed!

"ESME!" I heard Alice yell. "Come on! Tell me what happened!"

"Not until you quiet down," I said calmly, slipping off my dress, hanging it up in the little closet, and putting on my pajamas. "Bella and Rosalie are asleep."

"I know, Esme," Alice said, coming into the room. "They told me that they wanted to stay up, but it was too late, and Rosalie and Bella each wanted to do something tomorrow. They wouldn't tell me, but I'm sure it has to do something with Emmett and Edward."

"Alice, it's none of your business," I told her. "And if you want to hear about what happened with Carlisle, you'll have to a) keep your voice down, b) not squeal at anything I tell you, or c) do anything else to wake up Bella and Rose."

"Fine," Alice said, exasperated. "Oh! When you're done telling me about your date with Carlisle, I have to tell you about something that happened after you left."

"Okay," I said, having a feeling it had to do with a certain blond therapist-to-be. "Well, as you know, he came and picked me up for our date. We drove to this 5-star restaurant that—"

"_A 5-star restaurant,"_ Alice whisper-screamed. "These guys must be _loaded_!!"

"—their dad's friend owns," I continued, as if she hadn't spoken, "and we were seated immediately. He ordered us this amazing wine, we talked about ourselves a little—"

"Did you tell him?" Alice butted in.

"No, I did not," I answered. "Anyways, we had a fabulous dinner, had no room for dessert, so he drove me back, and walked me up to the room."

Alice looked at me for a minute. Then she said, "Is that seriously all you're going to tell me?!? You aren't even going to tell me how the heck you were immediately seated at a _5-star restaurant_?!? That's nearly impossible without reservations!"

"Carlisle's dad knows the owner," I repeated, talking to her as if she were a young girl instead of the 19-year-old she was. "And yes, that is all I'm going to tell you." I paused for a dramatic effect. "Unless…"

"What, _what_, WHAT?! Come on, Esme, tell me!" Alice cried, clearly not enjoying my teasing.

"Unless you want to hear about our little kiss outside the room," I said, getting up and going to the kitchen unit to get a glass of water, acting as if it wasn't a big deal.

"He kissed you? Again!"

"Yes, again," I said, not looking at her.

"Wait, was it a total make-out session, or was it just a little peck?" Alice questioned, as if she were interrogating me.

"Alice," I said, looking at her, "it was just a little good-night-peck. There was no heave make-out session! Good heavens, it was only our first date, for crying out loud!"

"I guess you're right," Alice said, coming up alongside me at the counter. "Well, I think I'm going to go to bed. Goodnight!"

"Wait," I said, grabbing her pj shirt so that she wouldn't escape. "Didn't you have something to tell me?"

She looked innocent for all of 2 seconds before I gave her "The Look". The girls had given it that name because, apparently, I reminded them of the look that parents give their kids to make them tell the truth. It must always work, because the girls always spilled to me after I'd give them "The Look".

"Okay," Alice started, "well, after you and Carlisle left, Jasper came up here. He said his double had gone and taken his job for tonight."

I raised my eyebrow. I knew Jasper liked Alice, but wasn't it a little early for them to start going out?

_What are you talking about?_ I thought to myself. _You're going out with his brother already, aren't you? And you've only known him for, what, 3 days? Don't be reprimanding Alice because she decides she wants to date one of the Cullen brothers as well after only 3 days! Anyways, Alice said these guys may be the ones for us.…_

"So what did Jasper want?" I asked her.

"Well, according to Jasper, the castle holds a bit of a party-slash-social gathering every Saturday night—which is in 3 days—and he wanted to know if I'd go with him," Alice told me, a giggle escaping her at the end.

"Oh, really?" I asked. "And you said yes, didn't you?"

"Of course I said yes," Alice said. "I told you that these guys may be for us! And I'm going on my feelings about them. Anyway, I have a feeling Carlisle, Edward, and Emmett are going to ask you, Bella, and Rosalie sometime over the next 3 days."

"Whatever you say," I replied. "Well, I'm going to go to bed."

"You don't even want to know if he kissed me or not?" Alice asked, a little pout forming on her face. Her infamous puppy-pout.

"I know you want to tell me, so go ahead," I told her. "Did he kiss you or not?"

"Well, it was just a little peck on the cheek," Alice said. "But it was still a kiss!"

"That's wonderful, Alice!" I said. "Now, I think we should go to bed. If you're right—and you almost always are—we're going to be a little busy tomorrow."

"Oh, fine," Alice said. "Goodnight, Esme!"

"Goodnight, Alice." And with that, we each went to our own rooms to dream about the Cullen boys who'd asked us out.

**APOV**

I still couldn't believe it. The gorgeous Jasper Cullen had asked me out! True, it was just to a little party the castle held every Saturday night, but he'd still asked me out! When Esme and I said goodnight to each other, I thought back to when Jasper had come over earlier…

_Flashback_

_There was a knock on the door, and I ran to get it, having a feeling it was for me anyway. When I opened the door, all I saw was a man's lean chest. When I looked up, I saw it was the beautiful Jasper Cullen._

"_Hello, Alice," he said. "May I come in?"_

"_Of course," I said, standing aside to let him in. "What can I do for you?"_

_While I closed the door, he said, "Well, my double has taken over for tonight, so I thought I'd talk to you before going to bed early."_

"_Oh," was all I could come up with. _Very nice, Alice,_ I thought to myself. _Is that all you can come up with? "Oh?"_ "Well, what did you want to talk about?"_

"_Well," he started, fidgeting with his hands as if he didn't know what to do with them. "You see, there's this party—well, a social gathering, really—that the park holds every Saturday night, and I…"_

"_Yes?" I prompted. _Was he trying to ask me out? _I thought._

"_I was wondering…would…would you—I mean, wouldyouliketogowithme."_

"_I'm sorry?" I asked, not really understanding what he'd said at the end._

"_I was just wondering if—maybe—you wanted to go to the party with me," he said, looking at the ground. I could see through his hair that he was blushing. It was just a slight coloring of his skin, but I could still see it._

"_Jasper, I would love to go with you," I said. "Is it really formal, or can I wear my new jeans from Giorgio Armani?"_

"_It's kinda formal," Jasper said, looking up a little. "A lot of the guys will either be wearing nice suits, or tuxes. The ladies generally wear dresses."_

"_Okay, I have the perfect outfit," I said, mentally going through the catalog of clothes I'd brought with me. "I'll wear—"_

"_Why don't you surprise me on Saturday," Jasper said._

"_Okay," I agreed, "but make sure you wear a…either a green or black cummerbund and tie. I'll let you know when I'm certain."_

"_Okay," he said, walking towards the door. "I look forward to it."_

"_Awesome!" I said, fairly bouncing up and down where I stood. "I'll see you tomorrow?"_

"_Definitely," Jasper said. He was about to walk out the door when he turned around, leaned down from his 6'2" height to my 4'11" height and gave me a quick kiss on my cheek. When he left, I could see he was smiling. I brushed my cheek where he'd kissed it, then heard Bella and Rosalie questioning me about who that was and what did they want? I told them everything, and soon enough, we were all bouncing up and down at my good fortune._

_End Flashback_

I smiled as I climbed into bed. I was definitely looking forward to tomorrow.…

**Alice and Jasper! It is unreal how many votes I got for the two of them compared to Emmett and Rosalie! Y'all are amazing! Myself and mrs. whitlock-hale are just about jumping up and down with excitement. Those of you who wanted Emmett/Rosalie, I'm sorry. I just had so many for Alice/Jasper! But Emmett/Rosalie will get there soon enough, I promise! Love you all, Nessie. Carlie**


	28. Calla Lilies?

**Thanks, guys, for the amount of reviews I got last chapter! I've gotten over 300 reviews for this one story, and 160 of you have this story on Story Alert! mrs. whitlock-hale and myself are super-excited! Y'all are amazing readers, and we appreciate your reviews. Thanks so much!**

**And kudos ****to ****redheads-have-more-fun-HPLVR****for**** getting the little Harry Potter line at the end of the last chapter! I was wondering how many people would get it!**

**So, the winners of my little poll were Alice and Jasper. And last chapter, Jasper asked Alice to the Saturday Night Dance at the castle. And, Alice being Alice, she wanted to get ready early. Let's see what happens…**

**APOV**

I was so psyched when I woke up the next morning. I'd dreamed about the dance that Jasper would take me to this Saturday, but in it were Emmett and Rosalie, Esme and Carlisle, and Edward and Bella. And each couple was dancing together! I had a feeling it was one of my "night visions".

I hopped out of bed, and started to eagerly get dressed. I found my favorite Ralph Lauren skirt and halter, put them on, along with my gold sandals—also from Ralph Lauren—spritzed myself with a little R.L. perfume, and went into the kitchen unit to see if there was anything I could make without screwing it up. Normally I'd let Bella cook—she can cook better than Rosalie and I combined—but I was feeling really good today. I mean, Jasper had just asked me out, last night!

No sooner had I gotten out the eggs and was about to crack them, when sleepy-head-Bella walked out of her room and asked, "Alice, I hope you're not trying to make breakfast. Remember what happened last time?"

I was instantly reminded of what had happened. I'd tried to make eggs, toast and bacon, but I'd ended up making the eggs scald the bottom of the pan, burning the toast, and over-cooking the bacon. All in all, it was a disaster. Bella had gotten kolaches for all of us that morning.

Not that we'd complained.

"Bella, I'm in a really good mood," I told her. "Please don't ruin it for me."

"What has gotten you in such a good mood that you felt like making breakfast, even though you know you can't cook to save your life?"

"That's mean, Bella," I said, putting on a pouty face. "Just because I can't cook and you can doesn't mean you have to rub it in my face."

"I'm sorry, Alice," Bella apologized, "but I've just woken up. You know how I am first thing in the morning."

"I know," I said, cheering up instantly. "That's why I forgive you!"

Bella rubbed her eyes, and eyed my outfit. "You're dressed up. I wonder why?"

"What?" I asked innocently. "I'm always dressed in designer clothes. You of all people should know this."

"Alice, you are decked out from head to toe in Ralph Lauren," Bella said. "Even the perfume you're wearing is Ralph Lauren! Did something happen that you're not telling me?"

"I'll tell you when Rosalie gets up," I said, handing over control of breakfast to her. "I don't really want to repeat it, for fear I might explode with happiness."

"Wow," Bella said, cracking the eggs into the bowl like a pro. "That good, huh?"

I was about to say something, but then Rosalie walked in, still dressed in her cute pj's.

"Good morning, Rose!" I said, going over to hug her. When I did, she hugged me back, but then said, "Coffee."

Bella immediately went to the Tassimo coffee maker in the corner and asked Rose what kind of coffee she wanted.

"I can work the coffee maker, Bella," Rose said. "It's the easiest coffee maker in the world, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out how to use it."

"Geez, Rosalie," Bella said, cooking up the bacon. "I know you're crabby in the mornings, but you've never been _this_ bad. What's up?"

"Nothing," Rosalie said, turning on the Tassimo. "Just that I had a really…well, let's just say that I didn't think to dream of what I did."

"Rosalie, that makes absolutely no sense first thing in the morning," Esme said, coming out of her room.

"So, you _did_ come home," Rosalie said, smirking slightly. When Esme blushed, Rosalie continued, "I was beginning to wonder if we had to wait until later to see you sneaking back in the room like a teenager who went snuck out for a quickie in the woods!"

The sight of Esme about as red as a tomato had us all laughing our butts off. A knock at the door interrupted us, and I went to go get it. I opened the door, and a bouquet of yellow calla lilies was the only thing I could see.

"Excuse me," said a voice that I recognized, but was slightly disguised so that I couldn't place it, "but are you Alice Brandon?"

"I am," I said, trying to see who was behind the massive bouquet.

"I have a delivery for you," the voice said. It almost sounded like…no, it couldn't be…

"Sure, come in," Rosalie called from the kitchen unit.

When the guy wouldn't even face me, I was even more suspicious.

"Excuse me, but would you mind telling me—"

"Surprise," he said, moving the flowers and cutting me off.

"_Jasper?!?_"

**JPOV**

"Excuse me, but would you mind telling me—"

I cut her off, saying, "Surprise," and moving the flowers out from in front of my face. Her face was an expression of shock.

"_Jasper?!?_"

"The one and only," I said, giving her a regal nod. "And it is my pleasure to present you with a beautiful bouquet of calla lilies."

"Thank you," she said, taking the flowers from my hands. "How does one come by such a huge bouquet?"

I smiled in spite of myself. "I have a friend at school that's majoring in horticulture. And the greenhouse is filled with lilies. When I asked him—"

"When did you ask him?" she asked. "It's only 9 in the a.m., and you came over at about 9 p.m. last night. Don't tell me your friend is a night owl?" She eyed me like I was up to something.

"Well, he owed me a favor?" I said shrugging. "When I called him, he said to come by the greenhouses which are about an hour away."

"Wait," she said, putting the lilies in water, then putting her hands on her hips, "are you telling me that you went an hour away just to get a huge bouquet of lilies _pour __moi_?"

"What?" I said, feeling a little upset. Most girls would find that horribly romantic, and she was acting like I'd just asked her the most horrible question. "If you don't like lilies, then—"

"Jasper that is the single, most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me!" she said, running towards me and throwing her arms around my neck. I hugged her back, and for a moment it seemed like time stood still. Alice was with me, I was holding her, and all was right with the world. We probably would have stayed like that all day, but someone—maybe Rosalie?—cleared their throat, reminding us that we had an audience. We pulled apart, and I could see Alice's face was slightly colored. I could feel heat on my face, so I was sure I was blushing as well.

When Alice finally looked at me, she said, "Thank you for the lilies, Jasper. They're absolutely gorgeous."

"You're welcome," I said lamely, putting my hands in my pockets. That's when I remembered… "Oh! I forgot, this came with it." I pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to her, making sure she saw the side in French first.

She took it, and her eyes came together in the middle for a brief second. "Jasper, what does _J'attends avec intérêt le samedi_ mean?"

"Turn it over, Alice," I said, pointing to the card.

She turned it over and read it in English. "Oh!" was all she said. "I look forward to Saturday as well, Jasper."

"Well, as much as I would love to stay and talk more with you, Alice," I said, loathe to leave, "I honestly have to go run some errands today."

"That's okay, Jasper," she said. "We were thinking of going to the mall later anyway." At that statement, I heard someone groan in frustration. Alice and I looked to see Bella with her head down.

"Alice, when did we decide this?" Bella asked.

"Rosalie and I decided on it last night when you fell asleep and Esme was on her date with Carlisle," Alice replied, not taking any pity on Bella. I smiled at the mention of my eldest brother taking Esme out. I knew he'd taken her to Alistair's restaurant because he'd told us this morning when we all woke up. We'd all fallen asleep by the time he'd gotten back because Emmett—being in command when Carlisle wasn't there—decided to close shop early and celebrate Carlisle's "lost bachelorhood" with junk food and 3 6-packs. Edward, even though he was our brother and we let him drink when he's with us since he's only 19 and not able to drink legally yet, chose not to have one. We didn't know why, but he'd replied with, "Technically, Carlisle's still a bachelor. He's not leg-shackled yet." Emmett had just laughed, but I thought my little brother had a point.

"Alice, you know how much I hate shopping!" Bella's little protest had pulled me out of last night's festivities, and back to the girls.

"Um, I think I'd better go now," I said. Alice looked at me as if realizing I was still there. "It was great to see you again, Alice."

"Thanks again for the flowers, Jasper," she said. "And for stopping by."

"You're welcome, Alice," I replied. "I'll see you Saturday, if not sooner."

"Okay," she said, going to open the door for me. "Saturday, then."

A piece of her hair was hanging in her face, so I impulsively tucked it behind her ear. Our gazes locked, and we didn't break eye contact for what felt like an eternity.

"So, I guess we'll see you later then, Jasper."

Rosalie's voice tugged Alice and I out of our little moment.

"Bye, Alice," I said, walking out the door and towards the elevator.

**Yay! So Jasper and Alice obviously have the hots for each other. This is just a bit of a filler chapter, and I'm really sorry about that. I promise the next chapter will have more stuff in it. So, R&R, and I'll try to get the next chapter up ASAP!!**

**Oh, and **_J'attends avec intérêt le samedi _**means, "I look forward to Saturday."**


	29. In the Garage

**Y'all are ama-za-zing! (Mine and mrs. whitlock-hale's word.) We had so many reviews when I opened my inbox!**

**So, when we left off, Jasper had brought Alice a humongous bouquet of yellow calla lilies. Kind of a filler chapter and I'm really sorry about that. But this one will be much longer, I promise!!**

**RPOV**

Ugh. It was way too early. I couldn't believe Esme woke me up this early in the morning. But as soon as Alice's happy chirping woke me up I knew I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep.

When Jasper came to give her those damn calla lilies—Alice's favorite flower ever—I knew we wouldn't hear the end of it. Although the fact that we were going shopping later, as planned by Alice and I the night before—and the Tassimo coffeemaker that came with the room—really brought my mood up.

"So, Rosalie," I heard Bella's voice say when Alice closed the door, "what did you dream about last night that has you in a darker mood than usual?"

"Ugh," I said, remembering my dream vividly. "Bella, do I really have to talk about it?"

"Yes, you do," she said, cooking up some of the eggs and bacon that were in the mini fridge.

"But why?" I asked, sounding like a spoiled 5-year-old.

"Because it has obviously pissed you off," Alice said, coming to sit next to me at the bar that separated the kitchen unit from the main area. The room we were staying in was seriously like a little house! It was a wonder there was enough room in the castle for a condo this size. And it was a condo!

I muttered under my breath. I seriously didn't want to deal with this first thing in the morning. I loved these girls like they were my sisters, but sometimes I felt the need to wrestle my own demons by myself. And that was all last night's dream was. One of my more horrifying, sickening, revolting demons.

"Rosalie, it won't get any better if you keep it locked away," Esme said softly.

"I know, but that doesn't mean I want to share it with everyone," I said, getting crabbier and crabbier by the second because it was still early.

"Jeez, Rose, no need to bite our heads off," Alice said.

"I'm sorry, Alice, but it's early, I've just woken up, I haven't had any coffee yet, and, to put the icing on the cake, that bastard Royce stared in my dream last night. Other than that, I'm just peachy," I said, snapping easily simply because _it was freaking early!!_

"You had a dream about Royce?" Bella whispered, suddenly stopping what she was doing with the eggs and bacon.

_Oh, shit, I didn't mean to tell them that_, I thought. Out loud I said, "Yeah, I had a _nightmare_ or two that stared Royce freaking King the Second." I said his name as if it were a horrible curse word.

"Rosalie, what was your dream about?" Esme asked, coming up behind me and putting a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"I can't explain it," I said, recalling my dream. "It started out with…_that night_…but when Royce…_attacked_ me…I dunno. It was like God himself just came down and got me out. I didn't see my rescuer, but I knew he loved me. It was as if I could feel his love for me through his arms when he carried me…"

"Carried you where?" Alice asked. I looked at her.

"I don't know," I told them. "I woke up right when I was about to see his face." **(Can anyone guess who Rosalie's rescuer in her dream was? ********)**

I went to go change out of my pj's. The outfit I'd picked out for today was a pair of cute Daisy Dukes, and a comfortable, black tank top, and red plaid half-shirt that had ¾ sleeves. I was feeling a little western-y today.

A knock on the door drew our attention, and I went to answer it after I'd finished putting on my make-up. The guy behind the door surprised me though…

"Edward?" I asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Rosalie, we need your help," he said.

"Yeah, sure, what's up?" I said, looking at the youngest Cullen in concern.

"Emmett's Jeep won't start," he said, a wicked gleam in his eyes.

"What did you do?" I asked, mortified that he'd messed with someone's car.

"I didn't do anything," he said. "I don't really know much about cars, but our dad taught us all how to change a car battery, and Emmett put his in wrong. My brothers and I didn't bother telling him so, but now he's pretty pissed off. We were wondering if you could talk some sense into him because he won't listen to us."

"Yeah, sure, I can fix his car," I said, waving to the girls to let them know I'd be back later, and followed Edward out the door. "Where's he got it parked?"

"Whenever we work on our cars we keep them in the castle garage," Edward explained, leading the way to the elevator. "Emmett decided to work on his this morning."

"I see," I said, getting on with him. He hit a button that said "basement" and we started going down.

"Is your garage in the basement?" I asked.

"Nah," he said. "There's a separate door that connects the garage to the basement."

"Oh. Well, show me where he is, and I'll talk some sense into that giant of your brother," I said.

"More like steroid popping brother," I heard Edward mumble.

"Your brother pops steroids?" I asked in a low whisper.

"No, we just tease him about it," Edward said. "He's really that big, but because the rest of us take after our dad with our lanky figures while he takes after _Maman_'s brothers, it annoys him when we mention steroids. He knows what they can do to people, and that's why he doesn't like them. He hates it when people insinuate he takes them."

"Oh." The short ride to the basement was quiet after that, and we didn't say anything. When we got to the door leading to the garage, Edward said, "Will you wait here while I get my brother's attention?"

"Sure," I said, getting ready for doing the thing I love most: working on a nice car.

**EmPOV**

Un. Freaking. Believable.

My beloved Jeep wouldn't friggin' start!!

"Problems, brother dear?" I heard a voice say from behind me. I looked to see Edward standing there with a too-innocent look on his face.

"What the hell did you do to my poor Jeep, _tu merde petit_?" I growled at my baby brother.

"Such language, _mon frère_," Edward tsked. "What would _Maman_ say? And what do you mean, what did _I_ do? I know squat about cars. You know that."

_That was true_, I thought to myself.

"Well, my Jeep won't start, and it was fine yesterday," I told him, turning back to the Jeep and lifting the hood.

"Perhaps I could be of assistance," I heard a gorgeous voice say from beside my brother.

"Rosalie!" I cried. "You don't know how glad I am to see you!" I ran over to her, arms outstretched, but remembered her…_apprehensiveness_ about being touched by a guy.

"Hey, Emmett," she said, my name sounding silky smooth coming from her mouth. "Having problems with your Jeep?"

"Yeah," I said. "It won't start, but the battery is brand-new." I pointed to the box.

"Really?" she asked, walking past me towards my Jeep, taking off her red plaid over shirt. "Have you ever changed your battery yourself before?" She looked at me like I was an idiot.

"Well," I started, "my dad showed me how to change it when I first started driving, and—"

"But have you _personally_ changed it before?" she inquired.

"Not since I started driving almost 5 years ago," I confessed.

"Well, it shows," Rosalie said, bending over to get a better look at it, seeming not to notice that her ass was now being flaunted by her short Daisy Dukes for the entire world to see.

"What do you mean, 'it shows'?" I asked her.

"Well, the battery is hooked up the wrong way," her muffled voice said from under the hood. "Your wires"—she grunted—"aren't connected"—another grunt—"properly."

"Really?" I asked, vaguely noticing when my baby brother took off. I was too busy looking at Rosalie while she was undoing the wirework on my prized Jeep.

"Yep," she said, "and your battery is in upside down, too. It's a wonder you could close your hood."

"Yeah, well," I muttered, not knowing what to say. Then something dawned on me.… "Wait. There are only two wires that connect the battery to the car. Are you telling me that I switched them up?"

"And put the battery in upside down," she said, coming back up with the…engine? "And by the way? You might want a different engine. The one you have right now is generally used in things like mini-vans. And yes, there are different types of engines."

"Huh," I said. "No wonder I can't get over 90 on the highway."

"Well, you're not supposed to be going faster than 75 on a highway," she said, looking at me as a mother would when reprimanding her child.

"Yeah, well…" I mumbled. Then I asked, "Which one do you propose I get?"

"Well," she said, leaning against the hood, "for a Jeep you might want something that can work when you go off-roading."

"How did you know I go off-roading?" I asked her. "Did Edward tell you that?"

"No," she said simply, starting to hook the engine back up. "The fact that you own a Jeep told me. A lot of guys who own Jeeps generally go off-roading in their spare time."

"Oh."

I watched her work under the hood of my Jeep, and she barely spoke, concentrating solely on her work. When she came up I saw that she had a little grease smeared on her cheek. When she looked around for something to wipe her hands off on, I got one of the clean grease-cloths from the stack we kept in the castle garage and wiped the smear from her cheek myself. When I touched her she looked like she'd been…_shocked_ by something. I felt like that too, but only because—when I touched her—I felt a bit of an electric shock go through me. Even through the cloth. She gasped, a soft, low sound that I wasn't even sure I actually heard, and we looked at each other. Her eyes started getting larger, and I told myself—afterward—that we were just caught up in the heat of the moment. But that didn't stop me from taking her offer and kissing her softly on her soft lips. She stiffened for a moment, then gradually got comfortable with the idea of me kissing her. Her lips slightly yielded under mine, and I decided to push a little farther. Her lips parted a little, but I didn't take what she offered. I knew, in the back of my mind, that she was caught in the heat of the moment as well, so I didn't take the kiss farther. When our lips parted, she looked at me, wonder and fascination in her eyes. She cleared her throat, and turned away, touching her lips lightly.

"Wow," she said softly.

"That's a good way of putting it," I whispered, coming up behind her and wrapping my arms around her waist.

"Emmett, wait," she said, pulling out of my embrace and pinning me with a look. "I don't want to get in a serious relationship, right now."

"That's okay," I said, a little let down, "we don't have to."

"Thank you, Emmett," she said, turning back to my Jeep. "And I'll get you a new engine for your Jeep. You'll just have to make do with the one you have now."

"Thanks, Rosalie," I said, starting to get out my checkbook. "How much?"

"Oh, no," she said, turning to me. "You don't need to pay me."

"Well, I have to pay you, somehow," I said. "I know. How about you come with me to the weekly dance-slash-ball the castle holds every Saturday?"

Rosalie seemed to consider it for a moment. "I'd like that," she said. She turned to leave the garage, then she turned back to me. "And you can call me Rose."

When she left the garage, all I could think about was the kiss we'd just shared. I touched my mouth the same way Rosalie—Rose had touched hers, and could've sworn I still felt her lips against mine.

_I know it's Thursday_, I thought to myself, _but it's going to be a long time until Saturday. Which suit should I wear…wait, now I sound like a girl. But what color will Rosa—Rose be wearing…?_

**Yay! Rosalie and Emmett are going to the dance, now. Now it's time for Edward to step up to the plate and ask out Bella. Think he can do it? Oh, by the way, can anyone guess who Rosalie's rescuer in her dream was? :-) So, R&R, **_**s'il vous** **plaît**_**?**


	30. The Nightmare Returns

**Guys, I just want to say I'm **_**SO**_** sorry for not updating sooner! I had band things from August to the first week in November, and had absolutely no me-time. But I'm back now, and I'll try to be a little more on top of things as far as this story is concerned. Again, I'm really sorry for not updating in, what, five months? Guys, I'm sorry.**

**And -hale told me that apparently I didn't put at the bottom of the last chapter what **_**tu merde petit**_** meant, but I really hope y'all can figure that out for yourselves. And if you can't just, use an online translator.**

**EmPOV**

I lingered in the garage for a few moments, thinking about The Kiss. It was amazing; I couldn't remember when I last enjoyed a kiss so much. Even though there was no tongue involved it was very sexy on my part. And I knew she enjoyed it as well. I hadn't pushed her, even though I'd wanted to take it further. I knew she needed more time to get accustomed to the idea of us being together. I considered going after her, but she'd probably head back up to her room. I didn't want to disturb her, and figured she might want to think about what had happened.

**RPOV**

When I got back to the room, I was still reeling from that earth-shattering kiss Emmett had given me. I'd planned on telling the girls what had happened as soon as I walked in, but Carlisle and Edward were busy talking to Esme and Bella, while Alice was doing God knows what. When I heard a little giggle, I looked to see Edward smiling and Bella covering her mouth to hide the offending giggle. I was stunned. I hadn't heard Bella giggle the whole time we'd been friends. She'd been too depressed about the thing with her parents, even though that happened about 10 years ago. Maybe Edward was good for her.…

"Rosalie, you're back!"

I turned to see Alice's small frame shoot across the room to hug me as if I'd been gone for weeks and not half an hour, and I forgot about the open door behind me.

"Alice, no need to hug her to death, she's only been gone for an hour or so," Bella joked, pulling her attention away from Edward for a moment and looking at us.

"So what was wrong with Emmett's Jeep, Rosalie?" Edward asked me, a mischievous smile playing across his mouth. I noticed Bella looking at him—or, rather, his lips.

"Well, his battery wires were switched, and said battery was upside down"—I pinned Edward with a knowing look. He just smiled—"and when I took a closer look I realized he had an engine that was mostly used in mini-vans."

Everyone started laughing, myself included. When the laughter died down Alice caught my eye, and said, "Something else happened, too. You'd better tell us, or I'll nag you until you do."

Bella and Esme looked at me, a question in their eyes. I looked down at my shoes, suddenly overheated from the memory of Emmett's kiss.

"Rosalie," Carlisle started, "did Emmett…do something to make you…uncomfortable?" He sounded like Jake when one of us would come home teary-eyed or pissed off because of a bad date.

"Not…uncomfortable, per say," I said. I didn't really want to tell them, but Alice's glare in my direction told me that she would probably hound me until I spilled. "More like…he surprised me."

"Come on, Rose," Esme said, "you're killing us here. Just tell us."

"Fine," I said, looking at her. Then I whispered, "He kissed me."

"WHAT?!?"

I restrained from covering my ears. All of them—the girls and the guys—had shouted the word in unison. It was kinda creepy, to say the least. Carlisle was the first to regain himself, though.

"Rosalie, I'm sorry for my brother," he said. "There's no excuse for what he did."

"Don't apologize," I told him. "It's not like I pushed him away, exactly."

"But still…" Carlisle struggled, "he…"

"Carlisle, it's okay," I said. "I didn't really mind it."

"Well, if you're sure…"

"Carlisle, she said it was okay," Edward said. "Leave her be."

Carlisle grumbled something about annoying little brothers and went over to Esme. When he was close enough to her, he wrapped her in his arms and she planted a light kiss on his cheek. It really astounded me how comfortable the girls were with these…guys, these…these _strangers_.

"Oh, don't mind them, Rose," Alice said next to me. I looked at her like she was crazy. "Don't give me that face, Rosalie Hale. I know you. You think he'll hurt her like Royce did you. He'd never hurt her. At least not intentionally."

"And that's supposed to make me feel better?" I asked her. "You're basically implying that he'll hurt her unintentionally. That doesn't make me feel better."

"Rosalie, please calm down and have a little faith in him," she said, sounding serious. You knew it was bad when _Alice_ sounded serious like that.

"It's not that I don't want to have faith in him, Alice," I told her, "it's just that I don't want her to be hurt."

"Rosie?"

I froze. I recognized that voice coming from the hallway from the open door I'd forgotten about. It was a voice that had haunted me for the past 2 years; a voice that I'd hoped I'd never have to hear again; a voice that I'd thought that had died along with the man who owned it.

"What do you want, jackass?"

**EPOV**

Alice's use of a curse startled me out of a charming conversation with Bella. We'd been talking about a cat she'd had before her parents had died and the crazy things he'd done. I couldn't remember the last time I'd laughed so hard! But Alice's curse at the man in the open doorway made me turn and look.

The man was of medium build, had hair paler than Rosalie's, and equally pale blue eyes. The only flaw on his face was a scar that ran the length of his right cheek that was hardly noticeable. On his arm was a buxom blonde woman with an unnaturally tiny waist—probably due to surgery—skin so pale it was almost transparent, and a pair of astonishingly bright hazel eyes. But she wasn't exactly pretty. She was sporting a bruise on her collar bone. You could tell she'd tried to cover it up with her shirt and cover-up, but it was so low cut and the make-up too dark. If anything, she'd made it stand out more. But the most surprising thing was that despite her tiny waist, you could tell her stomach was growing. She was pregnant.

I tried to get a handle on my anger at the man in the doorway. It was obvious that he beat the girl next to him. She hid it well, though. She was smiling like there was nothing wrong, and was rubbing her stomach like she was happy about her growing child. But her eyes gave her away. She was scared to death of this man.

**Dun-dun-dun…any guesses who it is? If you've read Eclipse—and I'm guessing most of you have—you should know who the guy is. I made the girl up, though. And I'll try to post more often! I finally have a life again, so I might be able to post sooner. Oh! And remember to review! Thanks.**


	31. Stories Revealed

**Yay!! I got a phenomenal response from you guys! I'm so happy that you haven't forgotten about me. Again, I'm really sorry for not updating for so long! Dang! That will never happen again, I promise.**

**So, when we left off, a mysterious guy happened along the girls and really freaked out Rosalie. Many people guessed who it was correctly. I'm so glad people pay attention to detail in the books. Oh, and sorry for making the last chapter shorter. I know y'all probably expected more after a too-long absence.**

**RPOV**

"What do you want, jackass?"

I glanced at Alice in shock. She _never_ swore! Well, that was a lie. She swore when she was insanely pissed off at something. I knew she was upset with Royce for what he'd done to me, but I didn't think her anger would've lasted _this_ long.

"Nice to see you too, Ashley," Royce told her, trying to sound like the gentleman we knew he wasn't.

"My name is _Alice_," she hissed. I saw the other girls look at Royce with disdain out of the corner of my eye, which was surprising. Both Bella and Esme were kind-hearted women. They tried to see the good in everyone, even when there was none. Like they tried to do with Royce when we'd first become engaged.

"How?" I asked, the word barely audible even to my own ears.

"How, what, Rosie?" he asked, slightly loosening his grip on the skank next to him.

"How are you still alive?"

**EPOV**

Rosalie's question made me glance at Carlisle. I looked down at Bella, who'd practically flung herself into my arms at the sound of Royce's voice. I recognized him now as the son of the bank owner, Royce King. His father was also the owner of practically every other big business in New England. Royce King the Second had disappeared around May after his fiancée had died in a horrible stabbing incident a week before their wedding this past April. The fiends had let her bleed out in the snow, then buried her body somewhere else. It was thought that the same villains had gotten to Royce Junior as well. But apparently that was not so.

"What does she mean, Ryon? And why does she keep calling you Royce?" the girl on his arm asked. She cringed when he glanced her way. If looks could kill, she would've been slaughtered three times over. She turned her gaze away quickly.

"How am I alive, she asks." He seemed to be talking to himself. "You mean after you left me at the altar and then came back to kill me? And having the audacity to wear a _wedding dress_ while you did so?"

"You nearly killed me first," Rosalie said, her voice suddenly hostile and filled with hate. "_You_ were the one who got drunk that night with your friends and decided to partake in a little gang bang. _You_ were the one who stabbed me nearly to death down the street from Vera's house. _You_ were the one who was laughing with your friends every time you caused me pain. And _you_ were the one who left me for dead!" Her voice had gotten louder each time she hurled an accusation at him until she was screaming at him, going closer to him as she did so. He didn't even look like he cared. He just looked downright bored. Until she slapped him.

"You stupid bitch," he said calmly. In a move that I almost didn't see—and my eyesight was pretty good—he'd detangled himself from the blonde at his side and stuck Rosalie so hard she was sent spiraling to the ground with a cry of pain. Unfortunately for him, that was the moment my burly brother decided to step out of the elevator.

**EmPOV**

I left the garage to grab a bite to eat at one of the restaurants near the park. They were really pretty decent. After I finished eating, I decided to go visit Rose and the others. No doubt my brothers were already there. Well, except Jasper. He'd needed to go somewhere apparently.…

When I stepped off the elevator I saw something that made my blood boil. Some asshole had hit Rose! Her tiny cry of pain had wrenched my heart in a million different directions, which was a new thing for me.

"Rose!" I shouted, running from the elevator to the room. When I looked at the guy who'd hit her, I saw red. I grabbed the sonofabitch by the collar of his shirt and slammed him down on his back.

"How dare you?" the guy said, trying to pry my hands off his collar. "Do you have any idea who I am?"

"Yeah, I do, you mo-fo," I said. "You're the asshole who hurt my Rosalie." The guy stuttered and tried to get up, but my fist was practically lodged in his neck.

"My father—"

"I don't give a damn what your father will do, you fucking daddy's boy," I said, coming up and bringing him with me. "I'm the co-owner of this establishment, and I want you to get the hell out of here. If I see you within 100 yards of this place, or Rosalie, I will personally see to it that you fucking burn in hell where you belong." Out of the red haze I heard Edward snickering softly. When I looked his way, he had his nose buried in Bella's hair trying to muffle his laughter. I looked at everyone else. Alice was shaking, covering her mouth with both hands so that her laughter couldn't be heard. Carlisle was half-smiling. Esme was grinning from ear to ear. Bella looked a little worried, then all out terrified.

"Emmett, watch out!"

I turned just in time to see the guy's fist trying to plant itself on my face. But thanks to Bella's warning I reacted just in time, and his fist landed in his own gut.

_Fail_, I thought. _This guy's obviously never been in a fight of any kind before. Still. Epic Fail_.

When he got up, gasping for breath as he did so, I could see the rage on his face.

"I will see you all put in prison for this," he said. "You mark my words. My father is not without power in this country."

"Is it just me, or does he sound like one of the wannabe aristocrats from one of Bella's romance novels?" I heard Alice ask Jasper.

"How can you put us in jail when we didn't do anything?" I heard Carlisle ask. "Not to mention the fact that you are in fact on our property. If we wanted to, we could accuse you of trespassing, and I'm sure my brothers and the ladies present will gladly vouch for it."

"You will pay," the guy continued to say. "You will all pay for what you've just done. You will rue the day—"

"Oh shut the hell up, Royce," Rosalie said, coming up behind him. "I know how you work. You think you can put the fear of your father's wrath into us, but you forget, I know your father. And judging by the fact that this girl doesn't even call you by your real name, but by your middle name, I'd say that Daddy is trying to hide you from the public eye. Why is that, I can't help but wonder? Oh, wait, I think I know. Maybe he saw fit to keep you out of the public eye because he thought it would help his reputation at the bank and get people to feel sorry for him. But you know what? I've realized that your whole family, your bitch of a mother included, is always itching for a public spectacle. I'm sure your father was thrilled when I was pronounced dead and you went mysteriously missing."

"You don't know anything, you stupid bitch," Royce said. I was impressed with Rosalie, but this guy's insulting her was wearing my patience thin. I'd never felt this kind of rage before, and I'm pretty sure this guy didn't want me to let it out on him.

"Get out, Royce," Rosalie continued. "Get out. And while you're at it, you might want to come up with a few new insults. You've only ever called me 'stupid bitch' and frankly it's wearing thin. And I'm sure that's all you ever call this poor girl."

"You will rue the day, Rosalie Hale," he said. Turning to the blonde he'd walked in with, he barked, "Olivia! We're leaving."

"I don't think so," Edward said, finally pulling himself away from Bella. "It's obvious you beat her. And she's pregnant. If you continue to beat her, she might lose her baby."

I heard a strange noise, and turned to see Rosalie stalking toward the window, her hand lightly on her stomach, and the other covering her mouth. I mentally went through what was just said, put that with her reaction, and didn't like the conclusion I came up with.

"You want to kill the baby," I said, looking at him. The girl's eyes went wide, and Royce's expression didn't change at all. He simply shrugged. My jaw dropped. This guy would willingly kill his own child before it was even born!

"Why would you wish to kill your own child?" I heard Carlisle ask, his voice revealing that he was totally floored. "What would possess a man to kill his unborn child?"

"I don't believe that's any of your business," he said, not even bothering to deny what we'd just accused him of.

"I know why," Rosalie finally said. "It would help his image if the girl on his arm wasn't _fat_. And he doesn't want the responsibility of having to raise a child. Isn't that right, Royce?"

"Ryon?" the blonde girl, Olivia, finally said, coming towards him with her hands on her belly and fear in her eyes. "Is that true? Do you really wish to kill our child?"

"That child is not mine," he snarled. "Don't think I don't know about you and that man who's been coming over and visiting you while I'm at work every day. I know he's fucking you!"

She gasped. "Darling, he is my brother! Kieran has just returned from Venezuela, and he's been wishing to pay a visit to me!" The poor girl sounded like she was going to cry.

"Lies! That's all you spout, you back-stabbing bitch! Lies!" He raised his hand to strike her, but I grabbed his wrist.

"Get out of our park," I said slowly, taking my voice down a few notches so it would sound dangerous. It worked. The guy looked like he was going to piss his pants. "If we ever see you again, we will have you arrested. Now go. And leave the girl."

He looked like he was about to say something, but two burly security guards had exited the elevator. I looked to see Carlisle putting his phone back in his pocket. Looks like he'd called for back-up. They escorted Royce out of the room, leaving the blonde with us. She looked to him, disdain starting to light up her eyes. Her hands, still at her belly, started to clench into fists. She looked like she was ready to vent her anger and sadness. I put my hand on her shoulder and told her, "He's not worth it."

Her eyes filled with tears. Seemingly out of nowhere, Rosalie came beside her, put her arm around her shoulders, and took her what I guessed was her room in this suite.

**RPOV**

I took the girl to my room, and sat her on the bed. She started crying, and I got her a box of tissues from the bedside table. She really was very pretty, or she would be once the bruises faded and she took on a healthy amount of weight. She was way too thin, and her body needed to extra weight to help support the baby.

"Wh-why are y-you b-being so-so n-nice to m-me?" she asked through her tears. Her bright hazel eyes looked at me, and I saw that she couldn't be more than 17 or 18 years old. Royce really was a sick-minded pig. I knew he liked young girls, but he was almost 28 now! He had no business getting involved with a teenager!

"How old are you?" I asked her. I knew she asked me a question, but I was worried about her and her unborn baby.

"I'll b-be seve—I m-mean, I'll be tw-twenty-th-three in J-June," she said. She looked away from me.

"Honey, don't lie to me," I told her. "I've been a victim of Royce's cruelty, too. Keeping it a secret won't help you. Now, you're only sixteen? What are you doing with him, then? You should be in school, not gallivanting all over Houston as Royce's trophy girl!"

Her tears started up fresh again. I felt bad. I knew the last thing she needed was someone to yell at and criticize her. "I'm sorry, sweetie, but I'm worried about you. I know how Royce works, and I know that you don't need anyone yelling at you right now."

"No, you're right," she said. "I-I dropped out of school last year. My father left and my mother died a month later of a drug overdose. Ryon—Royce—he helped me and my little brother. He took us under his wing, and I was so grateful to him. And when he came to my room about 3 months after my brother and I moved in with him, I thought it was natural to let him make love to me. He'd told me he loved me, so I let him. And he…he was so gentle and…I didn't want him to throw us out, like he'd threatened to do when I first told him no the week before. We were together for 2 weeks before he started hitting me. And 6 weeks after that, I found out I was pregnant. I was so happy, but he was furious, saying I'd lied to him about being safe. But he'd never asked, and I'd never thought it was important."

"Oh, honey," I said, holding her to me. I felt really bad for her. At least Royce and I had dated for a few months before he proposed to me. And he'd never hit me except for when he and his friends decided to have their fun that night. And at least my parents were still alive. Well, my mother was. The papers had said that my father fell ill, and his condition was worsening. I couldn't see them, though. They still lived in Baltimore, while I lived here in Houston now. This girl's short life had been hell, and I felt like I had to do something about it. Royce was a bastard who needed to die, yes, but he'd continued to make people's lives hell on earth for the last 2 years. He needed to stop. And I would partake in his downfall.

**OMG, you guys! I'm so, so, so, **_**so**_** sorry!!! I haven't updated in forever! I'll try more often to get on, since we're on Spring Break! GAH!!! I'm so sorry!!!**


	32. So Much Drama

**Okay, so I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been really busy with band, life, the SAT Test, that sort of stuff. Not to mention everything that my parents have decided and planned without telling me. Raise your hands if your parents are like that. Wait…never mind.**

**EPOV**

Well. That was interesting. For a moment, it had seemed like my brothers, the girls, and I had been thrown into a soap opera drama involving a woman scorned—Rosalie—the ex-lover—Royce—the scorned woman's new boyfriend—Emmett—and the ex-lover's new girlfriend—Olivia, who was with Rosalie now.

Turning to Alice, I said, "Well, you're just full of surprises, shorty. I didn't think you could curse, let alone what just came out of your mouth."

"Oh, hush, Edward, you don't even know me," she replied jokingly, lightly smacking my arm. I feigned pain, making her roll her eyes at me. Even though I'd only known her a short time—just a few days—she was like the little sister my brothers and I never had. Well, for Emmett and me, anyways. The way Jasper looked at her was anything _but_ brotherly. Then again, I suppose the same thing could be said for Emmett, Carlisle, and me to Rosalie, Esme, and Bella, respectively. Looked like we were all just a band of merry, love-struck brothers.

Wait, _love-struck_? Were we all love-struck? One would think it'd be too early to even think about love, but we'd all been acting differently since these girls showed up at the park. For one thing, Emmett wasn't trying to pick a fight with anything and anybody, Jasper wasn't as depressed as he has been since that bitch Maria, Carlisle wasn't so obsessed about med school, and I was definitely a little more carefree than before.

"Edward!"

"What?" I looked around, and saw Alice looking at me expectantly. "Sorry. What was the question?"

"Wow. Way to pay attention, Eddie," Alice said. I grimaced, and she smiled evilly. "What, you don't like it when I call you Eddie? Sorry Eddie but I just can't seem to help myself. I always call people by nicknames, Eddie. In fact, I—"

"Stop!" I couldn't take it anymore! However, when I looked at Alice she had such a heartbreaking expression on her face and I instantly felt bad for yelling. "Alice, I'm sorry, but I really _hate_ being called Eddie."

She instantly perked up, saying "Okay!" in the most chipper voice I'd ever heard, then said, "And FYI, the question was, what are we going to do today? Honestly, I wouldn't mind just hanging out in our room. It's not even noon, and there's already been a bunch of drama. I don't know how much more I can take, and that's saying something. Well, on my part, anyway."

"Define 'so much drama' Alice," Bella said. She and Esme, along with my brothers, had been so quiet, I'd nearly forgotten they were there. Which was quite surprising, seeing how I'd've expected Emmett to start charging after the guy who'd slapped Rosalie down. I could tell that Carlisle, who was the most patient man I knew, was quickly losing his cool, and I was about as mad as a hatter with rage. She felt like a sister as well. I was pretty sure both she and Alice would have me wrapped around their lithe little fingers in no time flat. It was quite possible I already was! Which was quite frightening, when you thought about it. Being wrapped around the fingers of two girls you've only met a few days ago? Very disconcerting.

"Bella, Bella, Bella," Alice said. "You should know by now that when I say 'so much drama' I actually mean it. And 'so much drama' would be the fact that Jasper came here about an hour ago with the calla lilies that are on my bedside table at the moment, the whole ordeal that you went through with those four guys yesterday, spilling our guts to guys we just met, and now what just went on with Rosalie and that jack-ass Royce."

"Okay, you have a point, Alice," Bella conceded. "But it's still no worse than some of the stuff that goes on in high school."

"Bella, you're so innocent, it's cute," Rosalie said, coming out of her room with Olivia in tow. She looked like she'd been crying, but that wasn't exactly surprising, seeing as how she'd pretty much just broken up with the only guy she was convinced cared for her. When she looked at me and my brothers, she had such a broken expression on her face, that I felt my heart crack for her, even though I'd just met her. The poor girl didn't look a day over 18, if she was that. When she spoke, her voice was so thick with tears.

"I—I wanted to thank you and your brothers," she said. Then, speaking to the whole room, she spoke softly. "I'll be forever grateful to you all. Especially you, Rosalie." The way she looked at Rosalie was a mixture of sisterly affection and hero worship.

"You are very welcome, dear," Esme said, going over to Olivia and hugging her. Olivia responded in kind and buried her face into Esme's shirt. She was so tiny, despite her pregnancy, and she only came up to Esme's shoulder. She was a little shorter than Alice, even. It made me wonder if Royce was feeding her properly. Probably not, since he abused her.

She suddenly looked up from Esme's shirt and gasped. Esme looked down at her questioningly, but all she could do was stare at some point beyond my brothers who'd had their heads together while I'd gone over to Bella.

"What's wrong?" Esme asked. She mouthed something that I didn't catch, but apparently Esme did. She looked at me and said, "Her brother is still with Royce."

"I thought she said her brother just got back from Venezuela and was visiting," Bella said, stepping out of my arms. They suddenly felt barren and lonely without her in them.…

"My older brother, yes," Olivia replied. "Kieran is older than me by 6 years. He's in college right now, and he was in Venezuela for a foreign exchange program. But my little brother Ian…" She suddenly broke off on a little sob. "Please, Ian is only 10. I don't want him to be at the mercy of that…that…_monster_."

"Alright, little one," Carlisle said, walking away from Emmett and standing next to Esme. Olivia cringed into Esme when he came within touching distance of her, but instead of trying to make her accept his close proximity, he backed up a step or two to make her feel more comfortable. "We will get your brother back," he said. "Will you please tell us the address Royce is staying at the present time?"

"He's staying at Galveston Island State Park," she said. "In cabin number—"

"He's _camping_?" Rosalie asked. "Royce Ryon King III is _camping_ on _Galveston Island_?"

"Yes," she whispered. "He thought it would be a 'romantic' trip for us. Just me, him, and my brother, in a cabin on Galveston Beach." She scoffed, then looked down at the ground. "Some romantic trip this turned out to be. Ian has been sick for the past two weeks, and since Kieran has left to find a job so we can live closer to our hometown, we are—or were—stuck with Ryon…Royce, I mean. Anyways," she said, pulling away from Esme and wrapping her arms protectively around her belly, "it's alright now. I am safe, and soon my brothers will be, too. Thank you all, so very much."

"You are very welcome, Olivia," my brother said, going over to give her one of his infamous bear hugs, I assumed. But at her instinctive flinch, he dropped his arms and suddenly wore such a pitiful expression Alice ran up to him and threw herself onto his back.

"Does Emmy-bear need a hug?" she asked in a baby voice, wrapping her arms and legs around him like a little monkey and instantly breaking the tension that had suddenly set in the room. My wrestler-like idiot of a brother suddenly laughed out loud, and Olivia cracked a small smile.

Feeling like everything was alright for the moment, I went back over to Bella.

"May I please talk with you?" I asked her, taking her hand. "Privately?"

"Of course," she said, letting me lead her out the door.

**BPOV**

I followed Edward out the door, and into the elevator Emmett had walked through about 5 minutes ago. He pushed the button to go down, and almost immediately the doors opened. I hadn't noticed before, but the elevator was beautifully decorated. The outside was framed with a turquoise arch, and the doorframe was either gold-painted metal or solid gold. The doors themselves had mirrors on the outside with a frosted design of circles and curved lines. There were stairs that ran on each side of it, down on the left and up on the right, and the railings seemed to flow from the arch above the doorframe. The inside was just as beautiful. It was made of a medium wood and the sides were made of two panels of frosted glass with another design on each panel. The numbers on the buttons were intricately carved and set on a gold panel. It was the most beautiful decorating job I'd ever seen.

Edward pressed the button to take us to the first floor. When the doors closed, he let go of my hand, and stepped to the other side of the elevator.

"Edward, is something wrong?" I asked him, moving to close the gap and blushing furiously at my boldness. I grasped his hand in mine again, trying to understand why he'd let go of my hand.

"No, nothing's wrong," he answered, letting me take his hand. "I just thought you might need some space."

"Why?" I asked, not understanding him at all.

"Well, because of what happened at the restaurant, those guys in the shopping complex, the thing with Royce just now—"

I cut him off. "Edward, I don't need space," I said. "If anything I need to be with people right now. I've noticed that after a few traumatic experiences—not that these have been particularly traumatic—the best thing to do is to be with other people, not shun them out."

"I've read about that in some of Carlisle's medical journals," he said, seeming to light up as he started on what I'd realized was his favorite subject: being a doctor. "A lot of psychiatrists have deducted that the natural human instinct is to shove people away after a particularly distressing incident, but that it would be better in the long-run for them to connect to other people who have dealt with the same or similar experiences."

"Well, it's true," I said, glad to finally find someone who understood, even if the person in question had a brother that was studying to be a pediatrician. "By the way. Does it strike you as odd that we met 5 days ago, but it seems like so much longer?" At that moment the elevator doors opened, and he pulled me through toward a room labeled "Staff Only". I looked at him with curiosity. "Edward, I can't go in there."

"Why not?" he asked, opening the door. The inside of the room was designed in a surprisingly modern style that almost clashed with the old-style beauty of the castle itself.

"Edward, I'm not part of the staff," I told him, still resisting entering the room. "I don't think guests are allowed in a 'Staff Only' room."

"Well, you're my guest," Edward said, deciding to pick me up instead of trying to drag me in forcefully. I wrapped my arms around his neck in surprise and clung on tightly for dear life.

"_Edward_!" I cried. "Put me down! I'm too heavy!" I started struggling to get him to _put me down_.

"Bella," he said, looking down at me, "you're light as a feather." Then he frowned. "Bella, you feel almost _too_ light. Have you been eating correctly?"

I stopped struggling, but I didn't look at him. It was true I'd had problems eating lately, but I didn't think it was a bad thing. I still ate three times a day. Just not as much as I'd used to.

"Bella?" He put me down, and looked at me with worry in the beautiful green eyes that had been in my dreams for the past two nights. I couldn't meet his gaze.

"Bella, you _haven't_ been eating right, have you?"

"Not since my parents died," I confessed to him. My voice was soft, so I wasn't sure if he'd heard me. He took my face in his hands, and I noticed how large and warm they were. I closed my eyes, enjoying the feel of him holding my face this gently.

"Bella…"

"Yes, Edward?"

I opened my eyes, and found myself staring into his emerald-green ones. For a moment I worried that someone might see us, but out of my peripheral vision I could see that no one was in the room, or around us. When he started moving closer to me, his hands moved from the sides of my face, to the sides of my neck. And when he pulled my face to his and pressed his lips to mine, I didn't resist.


	33. Mike's Reappearance

**Yay! So Edward and Bella have just had their first kiss! Progress has been made. And since I now have a computer with which to use during the day, I'll hopefully be able to post new chapters sooner than I have been...…I'm really sorry about that, by the way.**

**So, I have a question for those of you who read my author's notes at the beginning of the chapters. What should the theme for the weekly Saturday-night party be? The vampire ball cliché that we all love, Monte Carlo (like in the movie), or something completely different? Let me know in a review! ****Merci, mes amis****.**

**EPOV**

The second my lips touched hers, it was like the Fourth of July was going on throughout my entire body. And since her body was just about flush with mine, it made the fireworks all the more stronger. I nearly died of surprise and relief when she opened to my tongue running along the seam of her lips. It was obvious, to me at least, that this was the first time she'd ever been kissed like this. Just when my tongue dipped inside her mouth, I heard a gasping noise, then , breaking our kiss, I turned to see Mike, of all people, glaring daggers in my direction.

"What do you want, Newton?" I practically growled. He'd interrupted the greatest kiss I'd ever had, and it pissed me off. I didn't let go of Bella, but I did turn around to that I was holding her from behind, my arms around her middle and my chin resting on top of her head. She put her arms on top of mine, and for a moment I feared she'd push them away. But she just rested them there, evidently not worried about Newton finding us together. But from the way she was shaking a little, I figured it was either from the ferocity of our kiss, or Newton himself.

"What the hell are you doing with my girlfriend, Cullen?" he snarled, taking a "threatening" step toward me.

"Hm." I pretended to think this over, when I already knew what my response would be. "Last I checked, Mike, not only was I your employer—and threatening me could cost you your job—but also that Bella was noticeably single, so there would be no problem with me kissing her, seeing as how I've already asked her to the dance on Saturday." My voice sounded so guiltless, but I'm sure it was scary when coupled with the murderous look on my face. Newton looked like he was about to reply when my cell phone rang. I pulled out of my pocket, leaving one arm around Bella, and looked at the caller ID. Tanya.

"Hello, Tanya," I said after I opened my phone. "How are you, this morning?"

"Edward, I've got some bad news," she said. "Those guys from yesterday made bail."

"What?" I almost yelled into the phone. "How could they make bail?"

"Guess who," she said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Newton trying to move closer to Bella, but one look from me kept him where he was.

"But I thought the police were looking for her," I reminded her.

"Turns out she has many aliases, and she created a new one to free them."

"What do you mean, she has many aliases, Tanya? You make her sound like a hardened criminal."

"That's because she is, Edward," Tanya said. I could hear clicking on her end of the line. She was probably on the computer. "Lauren Mallory is wanted for being an accomplice to the murders of three teenage girls within the past two years as Lena Mackenzie, the robbery of two banks as Linda Makelroy, and has a juvenile record as herself for the desecration of public property and pulling a knife on a fellow student. She is also wanted for questioning about the murder her first husband, though records state that they were never actually married, and he was married to Lila Malone, not Lauren Mallory, but she got all of his insurance money anyway."

"So she's just in all kinds of trouble, isn't she," I said, digesting this information. I'd known about the desecration of public property. I'd found her after she'd done it, but since I hadn't done anything, I was free to go. But as I listened to Tanya list off all that Lauren was wanted for, I grew more and more appalled by the second. "But what alias did she use to bail them?"

"I'm sorry, Edward, but that's on a need-to-know basis," Tanya said. Usually she didn't keep information from me like this.

"Tanya, I _do_ need to know. That way I can tell my employees not to let anyone with any of those names into the park," I reasoned. It was true, as well. And since she'd been such a regular, the entire staff knew what she looked like.

"Edward, I don't _want_ to tell you," Tanya confessed after a moment's hesitation.

"Tanya, _please_!" I practically begged. Newton, I could see, was enjoying my begging, and Bella was looking at me in concern. I'd thought she could hear the entire conversation, seeing as how she was so close to the phone. Apparently not.

"Fine," Tanya said grudgingly. When she hesitated a moment more, I thought she'd hung up, but then she said something that made me want to kill Lauren myself. "She used Bella's name."

**BPOV**

I could hear little snippets of the conversation Edward was having with Tanya, but nothing that I could make out clearly. I thought I'd heard the words "murder" and "robbery", but that was surely my imagination. When I thought I heard my name, Edward almost crushed the phone in his hands. I tried to get him to ease his grip, since Tanya was calling his name, but he held on with a grip tight enough to envy a boa constrictor.

"Edward, you're going to break the phone," I said, still trying to get him to loosen his grip. I touched his face, just to see what would happen, and suddenly, his gaze locked onto mine, his eyes daring me to say something else. "Please."

He seemed almost reluctant, but he eased his grip off the phone so that I could talk to Tanya and see what was up. I was still a little dazed from the Earth-shattering kiss Edward had given me—I'd never had a guy's tongue in my mouth before, at least not literally—but I could still gather enough of my wits to ask Tanya what was wrong.

"It seems that those guys who attacked you yesterday made bail, courtesy of Lauren Mallory," Tanya said, repeating the first part of what she'd told Edward. "But since the other officers knew not to let Lauren Mallory in, she decided to use your name instead."

"That bitch!" I said. Normally I didn't curse, but she was really pushing my limits with her scheming. Apparently she wanted me off-ed, but I couldn't figure out why. Then again, she had threatened me in the locker room the other day. In a fashion.

"Bella, we're working as hard as we can to find her," I heard Tanya say. "But she's sly. I'll give her that much. She's got at least four aliases, and we're not sure if Lauren Mallory is even her real name. For all we know, she could be named Jane Smith!"

"I understand, Tanya," I said. "And I thank you for doing this. If I see her, I'll call you." Then I realized something. I was using Edward's phone, and I didn't have her number. "Um, what's the number for this phone?"

"You can get it from Edward," she said. "We've had more than one person manage to tap our phone line, and we don't take chances anymore. Just ask Edward for it."

"Okay," I said. "Thanks, Tanya."

"No problem. Has Edward calmed down reasonably? I need to discuss a few details with him."

"Sure." I took the phone away from my mouth. "Edward, can you manage to be civil with Tanya?"

"Yes, I can," he muttered, grabbing the phone from my hand. He then let go of my waist, and went off to get himself something to drink from the fridge in the corner. In my peripheral vision, I saw Mike saunter up close to me.

"So, Bella," he started. "You and Cullen."

"What about it?" I asked him, waiting semi-impatient to hear his response and wondering why he was bringing it up.

"I dunno," he said simply. "I just don't like it. He looks at you funny."

"Well, you don't have to like it," I snapped at him. "And what I do in my free-time is none of your concern. I am _not_ your girlfriend, and I certainly don't answer to you!"

Mike's face paled a little, and I thought it was because I'd snapped at him, but then I heard Edward's voice behind me say, "Is there a problem?"

"Yes, there's a problem, Cullen," Mike said, his voice suddenly going steely. "You stole my girlfriend!"

"For the last time, Michael Abdulaziz Newton, _I AM NOT YOUR GIRLFRIEND_!" I yelled at him.

"Abdulaziz?" Edward asked, then burst into laughter. Between large peals of laughter, he said, "You poor guy, no wonder you're so messed up! Was your mother on crack when she named you?"

"Edward, be nice," I said. Even though Mike's name did sound funny to me, I'd always thought that someone's name wasn't something to be laughed at. Not even if said someone didn't like their name.

"Bella, you want me to be nice? Are you kidding?" Edward looked at me disbelievingly. "This guy, from what I've heard, has pretty much made life a living hell for you, and you want me to _be nice_?"

"Yes," I said, telling him my beliefs about a person's name. "For all I know, your middle name could be Beauregard!"

"Uh, no," he said. "My middle name is perfectly normal. Nothing silly like that."

"Then what is it?" I challenged, since he seemed so defensive about it.

"A very simple, kinda boring Anthony," he admitted.

"That's not that bad," I told him. From the corner of my eye I could see Mike leaving, so I shyly put my arms back around Edward's neck. He noticed my movement—kinda hard for him not to—and put his arms back around my waist.

"No, it isn't," he said, leaning closer to me. "And neither is kissing you." He pecked my lips lightly, then said, "Shall we try again?"

**MPOV**

I couldn't believe it. Cullen had had the _gall_ to kiss my Isabella, and she had just been standing there, enjoying it like the little slut she was! Also there was the fact that he was acting as her protector, when she was the one who needed protecting from him, and she'd blabbed my middle name, something she'd sworn she would never do when she first found out what it was. But the fact remained that _I_ was supposed to be her boyfriend, and _I_ was supposed to be the one to give her all of her other firsts. Her first kiss…her first love…being the first to taste her _just there..._

Lauren had promised.

**Dun, dun, dun! Ooh, I love cliff-hangers. So little Miss—or rather Missus—Lauren is worse that y'all probably thought she'd be, but there needs to be some sort of drama going on besides the girls' pasts, Olivia, and Royce! Otherwise it'd just be too boring for me. Remember to leave your theme ideas for the party on Saturday night! You have until I post that chapter, so you guys have some time. TTFN, ta ta for now!**


	34. Author's Note

**OMFG -hale and I are SO sorry! We know we left you guys hanging, and we apologize! The only explanation we can come up with is that high school happened, and even though we've graduated, we're now in college. We do plan on updating, so just please be patient with us! We will be updating and coming up with the next chapter of the story as fast as we can, but don't be expecting that anytime soon. We haven't written together in almost 2 years, and we need to figure out each other's writing styles again. We've also kind of lost interest in Twilight anyways…..blame the movies. They ruined the books. And we wanted to stay as true to the books as possible, but we just can't help seeing Rob and Kristen as Bella and Edward, and they both sucked. Sorry if you guys think differently, but hey. Opinions are like assholes; everyone's got one, and they all stink. And if y'all don't like it, -hale says you can all kiss her yellow chink ass.**


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